♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, new drama for "real housewives" husband tom girardi. the famed accused of defrauding clients. allegations he used stolen money to pay for his wife jayne's music career. ♪ the "expensive" singer flaunting that lifestyle on "the real housewife of beverly hills." >> we have two jets. >> is there more fallout ahead for erika jayne? supermodel cocoa rocha

dominating fashion magazines for two decades. inside her ground-breaking camp where she aims to mold and protect the next generation of models. >> it's just this, wow, i'm allowed to believe in myself and be proud of myself, and it's a-okay to be different, and there's room for me and room for you? remembering actor tom sizemore. >> i don't like you. >> known for "saving private ryan" and "blackhawk down." he died after suffering a brain aneurysm. plus donna summer. ♪ she works hard for the money ♪ >> a special gift to fans for the 40th anniversary of the classic album "she works hard for the money." (vo) sail through the heart of historic cities and unforgettable scenery with viking. unpack once, and get closer to iconic landmarks, local life, and cultural treasures. because when you experience europe on a viking longship,

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♪ good evening. i'm phil lipof. we begin with the real legal drama that rivals a scripted television series. high-profile attorney tom girardi now on the other side of the law, arraigned on criminal fraud charges. his court appointed attorney raising questions about his mental capacity. could all of this affect his famous housewife, erika jayne? they were a power couple in hollywood. >> i love you, thank you for meeting me. >> reporter: attorney tom girardi and wife erika jayne. >> i'm an enigma wrapped in a

riddle and cash. >> reporter: star of "real housewives of beverly hills." >> i'm not doing this [ bleep ] right now. okay, there she is! >> erika, oh my gosh! >> welcome to my home, come on in. >> reporter: the couple famous for their lavish lifestyle, which was showcased on the bravo series. >> this is the kitchen. >> reporter: and in jayne's music with club hits like "expensive." ♪ it's expensive to be me ♪ >> we got a peek behind the gates in pasadena, if you will, when we saw them joking about, do we take the big plane or the little plane this. >> we have two airplanes in the family, so you know, the little one is more regional, the larger one is cross-country and europe. >> because he doesn't own two private jets? >> reporter: now that glamorous image came crashing down. bankrupt. the superstar plaintiff attorney criminally indicted in two states for allegedly stealing millions from his clients.

>> it is money that is life-changing to those who need it. that they are being paid because of what happened to them to cover medical bills, to cover pain and suffering, to cover attorneys' bills. >> tom girardi is the latest figure from "the real housewives" franchise to be dragged into federal court, accused of doing something wrong. there's something about the "real housewives" franchise that seems to attract these kinds of characters that display incredible wealth, and yet you then learn, maybe that money is not quite what it seems. >> reporter: erika jayne, his glamorous wife, now embroiled in the scandal and weighed down by legal woes. >> she has a dozen or more civil suits facing her, a job on "housewives" that she has to keep, while talking about legal drama she can't always talk about and a questionable financial situation. >> reporter: the girardis' very public fall from grace chronicled in "the housewife and the hustler" streaming on hulu.

>> tom girardi was "l.a. law." he is mr. lawyer. >> a superstar. >> icon. >> bad-ass trial lawyer. >> we're just talking the money we're really going to get, that's $15 million. >> if you had a case then that had the potential to resolve itself or be resolved with millions and millions of dollars, his was the kind of firm that you wanted to go to. he didn't just represent l.a.'s elite, he represented a lot of average folks too. >> reporter: girardi famously won the real-life erin brockovich case. >> we've represented people against exxon, against dow. this is a million times worse. >> a million times worse? >> that's right. they let these innocent people drink water which was laced with chromium day in and day out. it's as bad as it gets. >> reporter: today in a chicago courtroom, girardi was arraigned on federal fraud charges. >> there's something particularly insidious about the criminal charges that girard faces out of federal court in chicago. because as alleged, he's taking

money, millions of dollars, to compensate people who lost loved ones in a plane crash, to pay off his american express card. >> reporter: he was indicted here in february for allegedly misappropriating more than $3 million in settlement funds intended for relatives of the victims in the lion air 610 crash, a boeing plane that went down in indonesia, killing everyone on board. >> we never worried about her traveling, especially because this is her job. >> reporter: his mother was one of the 189 people who lost their lives on that doomed flight. >> i have three siblings, all of them younger than me. and i have to take care of them. >> reporter: in the aftermath of the crash, tom girardi promised a financial settlement. >> thomas comes to my house three weeks after my mom's death. and then they asked, will you help us to get the money from

lion air? >> reporter: abc news first spoke to bias two years ago in "the housewife and the hustler." >> this is a tragedy, right? the lawsuit is also emotioally draining. and for us, every day is crying. >> reporter: he says girardi pushed him off for months as he asked for his full settlement money. >> we wait, we wait, keep sending email almost every week. >> reporter: ramadan says many the family eventually got half of what they were owed. for them, today's arraignment is long overdue. >> finally. after four years. something's happening. this man is corrupt, and this man is doing everything that is possibly -- you should not do. >> reporter: girardi also indicted by a federal grand jury

in los angeles for allegedly embaesling over $15 million from clients who suffered horrific injuries and loss. >> our investigation has revealed that, in fact, mr. girardi was robbing and stealing from those people who he claimed to be championing. >> in the los angeles indictment they went through five different clients who tom had stolen from. one joe gomez, who we saw in "the housewife and the hustler." he was never paid the monies he was owed. >> very disappointing when you find out your lawyer basically robbed you, knowing that he knows everything that i've been through. i just don't get it. >> reporter: arriving at that arraignment in los angeles, the disgraced lawyer appearing frail. girardi's attorney did not respond to our requests for comment on the two federal cases against him. erika jayne, now 51, filed for divorce in november of 2020. but it has not been finalized. she is not named in either of her estranged husband's federal

cases and did not respond to our request for comment. in a statement to abc news last year, her lawyer said, "the truth is that erika had no role in the lion air dealings, actions, or inaction, as between the attorneys and their clients and she never received any of the lion air client settlement funds." >> erika jayne nee erika girardi is not charged criminally 93 of these indocuments. i think that's because they don't have proof she was involved in the running of the law firm. this is very specific theft from clients. it's not been prove than she knew that tom was paying her american express bills with money stolen from clients. >> reporter: while she is not criminally charged, erika japan does have her own legal woes. last summer she was served with a $50 million lawsuit at the airport just back from a luxury vacation. it alleged the housewife was the front woman in her husband's scheme to steal money from his clients. it's one of many civil suits

filed against her, some of which have been dismissed. she was asked about them on a panel at bravo-con. >> and where are you right now with all of your legal proceedings? >> i'm winning. two years down the road, we're getting some really great rulings and i'm grateful for that. and more to go. i'm in a much better place and i'm grateful. >> reporter: the legal nightmare an ongoing part of erika jayne's storyline on "the real housewives of beverly hills." >> we are a long way from finding out what really happened here. >> i loved my husband. i thought he was great. now he's allegedly defrauding widows, orphans, and burn victims. how the [ bleep ] do you think i feel? >> reporter: in fact, one civil lawsuit points to an episode that aired last year where jayne said -- >> we're not even sure that there were people that weren't paid. >> no way. >> yeah way. >> you mean that there's a chance they could be lying? >> there's a chance.

you can allege anything in a lawsuit. >> reporter: girardi, now 83, he was diagnosed with dementia and also hymers in march 2021 and is currently living in a senior home. he's in a conservatorship controlled by his brother. at the arraignment today his attorneys argued their client is not competent to stand trial. >> he didn't look particularly well. tom girardi faces incredibly serious charges. the counts of wire fraud conspiracy alone carry up to 20 years in prison per count. and there are eight of them. >> reporter: erika jayne completed her sixth season on "the real housewives of beverly hills." no official word if these coming back for a seventh. >> i wonder if erika would remove herself from "housewives" but for needing to have a job. at this point, with this much legal scandal, other than a reality show what do you do next? we turn to the passing of act are tom sizemore, known for roles in movies like "blackhawk

down," "paving private ryan." >> i'm going to shoot you because i don't like you. >> "heat." he suffered a brain aneurysm on february 18th at his home in los angeles. doctors told his family earlier this week that they had exhausted all medical treatment and recommended an end of life plan. his manager saying he passed away peacefully in his sleep at st. joseph's hospital. his family by his side. sizemore was 61. for more on the legacy of tom sizemore, visit abcnews.com and watch "good morning america" tomorrow. coming up, the queen of pose. how legendary model coco rocha is leading a runway revolution. to help protect from hiv, i prep without pills. with apretude a prescription medicine used to reduce the risk of hiv without daily prep pills. with one shot every other month, just 6 times a year. in studies, apretude was proven superior to a daily prep pill in reducing

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♪ after decades on the runway, supermodel coco rocha, the queen of pose, has ridden the highs and endured some of the lows of the modeling industry. now fighting for change for the next generation. here's "nightline" coanchor juju chang. >> reporter: it's the first big class at this four-day boot camp for models. >> good morning! >> reporter: the energy in the room, electric. two dozen women from around the country and the world coming together for one thing, to learn the ins and outs of the modeling business. all from the queen of pose herself. coco rocha. what is the recipe for boot camp? >> confidence.

it's just, wow, i'm allowed to believe in myself and be proud of myself, and it's a-okay to be different, and there's room for me and room for you. >> reporter: in her two decades in the fashion industry, coco has graced major magazine covers like the fashion bible, "vogue," and stomped down runways for au couture houses like jean paul gauthier, dior, chanel. she's guested on "project runway." after breaking into the modeling industry as a teen, she's seen how the industry falls short of protecting young girls. >> i remember being told to remove my garments. first of all, my mom has been told to go home to the hotel. she felt, okay, leaving her with adults, these are the industry leaders here, so i guess i'll go. >> how old are you at this ppoi? >> i think 16. >> underage? >> underage. i was told, all right, so you're just going to be semi nude. i remember saying, um -- i don't

think so. um -- and they said, it's either this or you go home, back to canada. and i think at the time i just wanted, you know -- like, let me do what the adults need me to do, and then let me get out of here. >> reporter: the experience compelling coco to go on to help expand a new york state law to include underage models. finally requiring those under 16 to have a chaperone at photo shoots or castings. >> prior to the 2013 law that you helped pass, in what ways were underage models abused routinely? >> it was literally the wild, wild west here. do not bring a chaperone. you don't have to feed them. you don't have so worry about their schooling. if anything should happen physically, mentally, emotionally, no one would know. and it was very easy to just get a new model. >> reporter: now she's helping mold the next generation of models, founding the coco rocha model camp in 2018.

>> there's no school, we don't go to a university of modeling. there isn't a business program for us. so to understand contracts, your rights, agencies, the accounting system. it is mind-boggling the sort of behind the scenes that models are expected to understand on day one. >> reporter: at camp, coco switches from supermodel to mentor. first teaching the girls to pose. >> the past few years, we talk about diversity more than ever. as you can see in this room, you are very different from each other, and that's how we choose to have our camps. >> reporter: then how to walk a runway. ♪ >> shoulders back. hips forward. leading with your hip. extension of leg. okay, here we go. ♪ >> reporter: the girls also sit down with coco and her husband

of 13 years, camp cofounder james conran, for a frank discussion about the industry. >> so someone said, how can i deal with creeps on set? ask other models their experience. even then, if it's the first time working with someone, bring a friend. if there's a weird vibe, that friend is going to be ready to grab your stuff and you're going to walk out of that situation. >> however you reacted, it was right for that moment. because your safety matters more than anything. >> reporter: on the final day of camp, the models get their moment in the spotlight. >> i like it! yeah! >> amazing. you know, a new me. >> it's all about your movement. >> and when you look at the image of yourself, what do you see? >> i'm kind of speechless. i saw what i hoped and dreamed was possible but honestly never truly thought was.

>> here we go! i don't know what you're doing but i like it! >> regardless of what i do, i want to make sure i'm still angelette, at the end of the day. >> three, two, one, nice job. >> in a way you're asking them to define what's beautiful, instead of making the industry define it for them. >> yeah. i think tool times, i was trying to tell the industry, this has to change. and it worked to a point. but also it felt like i was forcing it down people's throats. so to create model camp, it was my way of saying, i'm train you and you go out there and tell them how it's done. >> our thanks to juju. you can catch more of "the queen of pose" on "impact on nightline" now streaming on hulu. coming up, donna summer. a big gift to her fans 40 years in the making. aah, it's a good day to cough. oh, no!

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♪ finally tonight, it's the 40th anniversary of donna summer's classic album "she works hard for the money." ♪ hard for the money so hard for the money ♪ >> fans of queen of disco are being treated to four bonus tracks on a new digital-only deluxe edition of the album. the music video for the title track has also been remastered. it coincides with what would have been the singer's 75th birthday later this year and an upcoming documentary "love to love you: donna summer." "she works hard for the money" was originally released on june 13th, 1983. ♪ works hard for the money ♪

that's "nightline." you can watch all full episodes on hulu. see you right back here same time monday. thanks for staying up with us, have a great weekend, and good night, america.