RHOBH star Erika Jayne’s rumored new man breaks silence on their relationship and his shooting arrest - suong

REAL Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne's rumored new man has broken his silence after a photograph of them together in Las Vegas went viral.

The Bravo star, who is still going through a divorce with disgraced former lawyer Tom Girardi, was pictured with a man named Jim Wilkes II at Ceaser's Palace.

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The U.S. Sun obtained the original image from the Blonde Hair Black Heart Podcast with Blake Adam, featuring Erika walking through Caeser's Palace in Las Vegas with Wilkes II following closely behind.

The 51-year-old pop singer and reality star is preparing for her residency at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino amid her big comeback.

Attorney Ronald Richards, who was previously a part of her ex Girardi's estate case and has spoken about Erika's legal drama, identified her mystery man on Twitter.

Now, in an exclusive chat with The U.S. Sun, Wilkes has set the record straight, saying: "I'm her primary attorney, I have been for some time now, her attorney coordinating her [other] attorneys with lawyer Evan Borges.

"You need somebody that can look at all of them. At one point we had nine lawyers because we didn't know where the next attack was gonna come from.

"And I didn't want to watch her kill herself, or something horrible happen.

SUPPORTING ERIKA

"I'm trying to help my friend. And people want to see something nefarious in that and they want to impose a sexual relationship.

“The distance between Erika and I was at least six feet. Where was little Mr. Photographer? I had been talking to a lady behind us, but to take that to a 'date'. 

"Erika and I have known each other way too many years to date.

"Erika's beautiful, funny, and mature, but we've been friends for 20 years, she's like a sister. She was close with my ex-wife, she's friends with my current wife."

Rumors have been circulating on online forums and blogs for months that Erika has a new 'sugar daddy' after she was labeled a golddigger in her relationship with Giradi.

But Wilkes thinks it's an unfair assessment, despite her ex's wealth when they first met, and their big age gap.

"This sugar daddy sh** is bullsh**," he blasted. "Erika's busted her ass.

"She started making millions of dollars a year. Tom took it, put it in the account, and she assumed everything was right. 

"She gave Tom every check she ever had and deposited them somewhere, I have no idea.

'EMBEZZLEMENT SCHEME'

"The bankruptcy case [began] in 2020, it's 2023, we still don’t have the accounting, I'm tired, I'm done."

Girardi has been indicted for his alleged embezzlement schemes from families of plane crash victims.

A federal grand jury in Chicago indicted the 83-year-old for his crimes back in February, according to multiple reports.

He has been charged with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of criminal contempt of court.

Girardi Keese law firm attorney David Lira, and its head of accounting and finance, Christopher Kamon, also faced the same charges.

The Real Housewives star has not been charged for her alleged involvement but continues to fight multiple civil cases after being accused of being involved.

Girardi, who is now reportedly living in a nursing home with dementia, is alleged to have pocketed more than $3million in legal settlement money from family members of Lion Air Flight 610 crash victims, according to court documents.

'A SLOPPY LAWYER'

Jim, who was a close friend of Girardi's for two decades, says he hasn't spoken to him for two years but is supporting Erika who has seen her reputation left in tatters.

Last September, L.A. County Judge Richard Fruin found no evidence of wrongdoing on Erika's part after she was accused in a civil lawsuit of aiding and abetting her husband. 

Wilkes alleged: "Tom was a sloppy lawyer who did not follow the rules, but Tom was not a master criminal.

"In the end, master criminals have money. When they found the accounts, [they] were all over the place, he had nothing hidden. Erika was left with nothing. 

"She didn't have a sugar daddy. Her sugar daddy didn't give her any sugar. She stood beside Tom so he wouldn't collapse.

"My goal was to see that she survived this and then to find the people that were culpable and hold them accountable."

Wilkes has previously been mentioned in media reports as a "longtime associate" of Erika's ex, who allegedly sent around $750,000 to the star amid her divorce, according to a report on Law360.com.

LEGAL FEES

He clarified to The U.S. Sun: "I just did a case where I paid almost five million fees to other attorneys. That's the norm. If I lose, I don't get paid back. But I've done pretty well. 

"My wife and I, in the first months, didn't know what the status was going to be [with Erika's case].

"We thought that Tom would have insurance to cover litigation. So we loaned her some money.

"I don't know how much it was. All right. But it's nobody's business and that’s what the judge said and I’m tired of talking about it."

Meanwhile, Florida lawyer Wilkes has hit back against reports he found himself in hot water last month when he was arrested following a reported domestic dispute.

Police reportedly arrested him on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony, and misdemeanor battery, per the Tampa Bay Times.

The report says Wilkes told police the woman hit him in the head, possibly with her hand, and he grabbed a .45-caliber handgun as he was afraid she would pick it up.

'DOMESTIC DISPUTE'

He told police he fired one round from into the bed and another into a bathroom wall to scare the woman and end their argument, the report further claims.

Although Wilkes insists he did not aim the gun at the woman, she told authorities she hit Wilkes and after he fired two rounds he put the gun to her head and her torso and threatened to kill her.

“There have been no charges filed," he insisted. "I don't expect any to be filed. There was a quick arrest.

“Within nine minutes he had me handcuffed after I had called in and asked for assistance."

He went on to joke: "I got to spend three days in jail and the second day was probably the best day I've had in 40 years. I didn’t have a goddamn thing to do."

Wilkes further poked fun at himself after his mugshot circulated on Twitter.

"I'll never dye my hair again," he laughed. "I saw how nasty I looked when the goddamn mugshot [came out], I'm going white-headed. 

"We had a hearing and the court found that I was entitled my weapons back, that I was not at risk.

"I have active [legal] licenses. I've never had a bar complaint against me. Never had a criminal charge."

Although Wilkes and his wife, Trista Tauchas, are listed as going through a divorce, he has shared a number of loved-up snaps of them on Instagram in the past week as they put on a united front.

A hearing has been set for their divorce proceedings for July 26, according to Hillsborough County Clerk.

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