Was it too “Xxpen$ive” for her?
A designer has filed a lawsuit against Erika Jayne, two of her assistants, current and former US Secret Service agents and American Express, alleging that they tried to extort money from him.
According to court documents obtained by Pvnew, Christopher Psaila — who co-owns Hollywood costume firm Marco Marco — alleges that the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star and her estranged husband, Tom Girardi, “weaponized the Secret Service to maliciously prosecute” him in 2017 in order to acquire a nearly $800,000 refund from American Express.
Psaila claims Jayne, 52, gave him and his store consent to charge her credit card for costumes he created, designed and supplied for her shows.
He alleges in the suit that the “Pretty Mess” singer and her two assistants knew that they purchased and received costumes and services from him and Marco Marco. However, he further alleges that they falsely told federal agents and the credit card company that the charges to her card with unauthorized.
In the documents, Psaila alleges that the Secret Service led a “reckless investigation” into Jayne and her staff’s claims and “deliberately ignored” facts that would help exonerate him.
In the suit, he alleges that current and former Secret Service agents — Robert Savage, Kenneth Henderson and Steve Scarince — concealed evidence that would have led to an acquittal at trial or prevented his indictment.
“This case reflects the corruption of the federal judicial system,” the lawsuit reads. “The Secret Service and United States should have never presented the case to the grand jury for indictment, and never proceeded with the prosecution.”
Psaila claims in the suit that Jayne and Girardi, 84, bribed Savage — who was the former head of the Secret Service’s office in LA — to criminally probe and charge him with crimes. (Savage previously denied any exchange of favors to Girardi and Jayne.)
The designer also claimed in the lawsuit that AMEX did not allow him to dispute the reality star’s claims that her card was charged without consent. He claims the credit card company refunded Jayne and Girardi over $787,000 and allegedly told the Secret Service that the pop star was a victim of fraud.
In 2017, Psaila, who maintained his innocence, was indicted on nine counts — including aggravated identity theft and wire fraud.
Four years later, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the case against him.
A spokesperson for AMEX told the Los Angeles Times that the company did not commence the criminal investigation of Psaila.
“We followed our regular processes and procedures throughout this investigation as we dealt with law enforcement … We did not play any role in the criminal investigation of Mr. Psaila or his business other than responding to inquiries from law enforcement,” the company said.
Savage — who was pals with Girardi — told TMZ that he was “restricted by a non-disclosure when I retired from the U.S. Secret Service to discuss casework during my tenure without their approval, so I would respectfully redirect your questions pertaining to the lawsuit to the USSS Office of Chief Counsel and U.S. Attorneys Office for the Central District of California.”
Jayne’s attorney, Evan C. Borges, tells Pvnew in response to the suit, “It seems calculated that [Psaila] timed this lawsuit to coincide with the rave reviews of Erika’s Las Vegas residency opening.
“[Psaila’s] claims against Erika are entirely without merit. Independent federal prosecutors at the US Attorney’s Office made the decision to charge [Psaila] with crimes, no one else. The notion that Erika controlled the US government, or for that matter a Fortune 100 company such as American Express, is fantasy.”
