“Real-Life” Financial Problems

Written by CFB Blogger. Posted in Blog

Teresa Giudice and Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice, two of the principals of the Bravo TV quasi-reality-show “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” have pled guilty to several counts of crimes as part of an on-going financial fraud conspiracy. Alleged crimes include mail and wire fraud, one count of bankruptcy fraud by concealment of assets, one count of bankruptcy fraud by false oaths and one count of bankruptcy fraud by false declarations. Joe also pleaded guilty to one count of failure to file a tax return. According to an article in The Trentonian by Matthew Osborne, “’Teresa and Giuseppe Giudice used deception and fraud to cheat banks, bankruptcy court and the IRS. With their guilty pleas, they admitted the schemes with which they were charged. Having now confessed their wrongdoing, the Giudices face the real cost of their criminal conduct,’” avers the U.S. Attorney for the state of New Jersey. The news story continues, “The conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud count to which the Giudices each pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each of the bankruptcy fraud counts carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Teresa Giudice’s plea agreement requires her to pay $200,000 to the government … The plea agreements also require the Giudices to forfeit money which they obtained via conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud…” According to court records, the Giudices admitted they committed bank fraud and loan application fraud. In October 2009, the couple filed individual Chapter 7 bankruptcies in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, subsequently filing a number of amendments to their original bankruptcy petitions. As part of the bankruptcy filings, they were required to disclose their assets, liabilities, income, and any expected increase in income. The Giudices reportedly deliberately concealed businesses they owned, income they received from rental property and Mrs. Giudice’s actual income from the television show, website sales and personal appearances. Mr. Giudice also admitted, the news article states, that during tax years 2004 through 2008, he earned $996,459 but did not file tax returns for those years. When the celebrity couple was indicted last July, they maintained that it was all a misunderstanding. In a September 2013 interview with Bravo’s Andy Cohen, both husband and wife apparently seemed to not fully comprehend the breadth nor the severity of the charges against them. Joe stated, “’I don’t even know what half the charges are. I don’t understand all that stuff. But whatever. If I wasn’t on the show, nobody would care.’” That’s really not true, Mr. Giudice; the courts in the U.S. care regardless of your fame or your fortune. Bankruptcy fraud is a federal crime.  The attorneys at Client First Bankruptcy take their obligation seriously.  Our attorneys approach each case with care and precision and we request relevant documentation to be able to protect its clients from allegations like these.  Don’t go to less experienced or less careful attorneys who try to sell you on ‘fast relief’ or ‘speedy filings’.  Haste often leads to bigger problems than those that caused the client to seek representation in the first place. The Client First Bankruptcy attorneys are among the most knowledgeable consumer bankruptcy attorneys in the country, representing thousands of clients in consumer bankruptcy cases. Call us toll-free at 800-383-6004 Monday thru Friday from 8:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Central Time. You can also log onto our easy-to-navigate, interactive website at www.clientfirstbankruptcy.com 24/7 for timely and accurate information on filing your Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.