Erika Jayne Faces Lawsuit Alleging Fraudulent Credit Card Charges

Erika Jayne is facing a new lawsuit from a Hollywood designer who claims she used Secret Service agents and American Express in an attempt to extort money from him, ultimately causing damage to his life and career.

The star of ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’, along with two Secret Service agents, are being sued by Chris Psaila. Psaila alleges that Erika manipulated the agents into prosecuting him based on her false claims that his costume company fraudulently charged her over $800,000.

In the lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Psaila alleges that Erika had given him and his store, Marco Marco, permission to charge her card for costumes and services that he designed, created, and provided for her performances. Psaila further claims that Erika’s estranged husband, Tom Girardi, was the account holder and she was an authorized user.

According to Psaila’s claims, he had been working with Erika since 2014 without any issues until she accused him of fraudulent charges on her credit card amounting to $800k to $900k between 2015 and 2016.

Psaila insists that Erika received all the clothing and services for which she was charged.

In the lawsuit, Psaila claims that Erika and Tom conspired to use the Secret Service to maliciously prosecute him. He alleges that the couple bribed agent Robert Savage, who was then the head of the Secret Service’s Los Angeles office, to initiate a criminal investigation against Psaila and charge him with crimes.

Furthermore, Psaila claims that American Express (AMEX) accepted Erika’s false statements of unauthorized charges and refunded her and Tom over $787k without giving him an opportunity to dispute the claims. He also alleges that AMEX informed the Secret Service that Erika was a victim of his fraud.

Psaila asserts that Tom and Savage had a close relationship that was not disclosed during his prosecution. He also claims that Savage had a history of falsely billing for advance Presidential location scouting trips, which ultimately led to his departure from the Secret Service.

According to the lawsuit, Tom allegedly bribed Savage to investigate Psaila by offering to represent Savage in a lawsuit against Volkswagen. Tom also promised to pay Savage $100k once the investigation against Psaila commenced.

Psaila maintains that the undisclosed relationship between Tom and Savage during his prosecution resulted in extreme emotional distress, financial harm to his business, as well as severe emotional, psychological, and physical injuries.

Psaila is seeking at least $18.2 million in damages from Erika, American Express, Savage, and others involved.

In response to the allegations, a representative for American Express stated that they followed their regular processes and procedures when cooperating with law enforcement during the investigation, denying any proactive involvement or initiation of the investigation. They also mentioned that they did not play a role in the criminal case against Psaila or his business beyond responding to inquiries from law enforcement.

The lawsuit against Erika Jayne alleges that she used Secret Service agents and American Express to extort money from a designer by falsely accusing him of fraudulent credit card charges. Chris Psaila, the designer, claims that Erika corrupted the agents and had them prosecute him. He further alleges that Erika’s estranged husband, Tom Girardi, was involved in the scheme. Psaila seeks at least $18.2 million in damages from Erika, American Express, Savage, and others. American Express denies any proactive involvement in the investigation and claims to have followed regular procedures in cooperating with law enforcement. Erika Jayne and Savage have not yet responded to the allegations.