|
 The couple arrived holding hands at U.S. District Court in
Newark, where Judge Esther Salas spent hours berating them for
years of hiding income and lying to obtain loans.
"I'm not sure you respect this court. I'm not sure you respect
the law," Salas said before ordering Giudice, 42, to serve her
sentence first, followed by her husband, so their four daughters
will have child care.
The judge repeatedly referred to the "imminent deportation" of
her 44-year-old husband, Giuseppe Giudice, an Italian citizen
better known as Joe, but no further information was immediately
available.
He was sentenced to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay
$414,588 in restitution and fined $10,000. Teresa Giudice was
sentenced to 15 months in prison fined $8,000.
"I can't even explain the pain that I've gone through," she
sobbed, wiping her tears. "My daughters are my life. They are
the first thing I think about when I wake up."
The judge scolded her for failing to live within the law.
"On one hand you are a savvy businesswoman who writes successful
cookbooks and markets herself so well. On the other hand you say
you didn't know how to cooperate. It defies logic," Salas said.
"In the eyes of the law, it doesn't matter who you are."
The Towaco, New Jersey, couple entered plea deals in March,
admitting to bankruptcy fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and
wire fraud.
Joe Giudice also pleaded guilty to failure to file tax returns
on income totaling nearly $1 million.
He could have been sentenced to up to 46 months in prison.
Teresa Giudice faced up to 27 months.
[to top of second column] |
Teresa Giudice must turn herself in to authorities to begin serving
her sentence on Jan. 5, 2015, the judge said, to allow the family to
spend the Christmas holidays together.
The Giudices have appeared in five seasons of the Bravo channel
show, where they reveled in their luxury lifestyle and spent
lavishly on their children and themselves.
In the first episode, Teresa Giudice paid $120,000 in cash to
furnish a room in their house styled after a French chateau.
In their plea deals, the couple admitted that from 2001 through
2008, they submitted fraudulent applications for mortgages and other
loans, falsely claiming to have substantial salaries.
In September 2001, Teresa Giudice applied for a $121,500 mortgage by
falsely claiming she worked as an executive assistant and submitting
fake W-2 forms and fake pay stubs, prosecutors said.
In 2005, for a $361,250 mortgage, she falsely claimed to be working
as a real estate agent making $15,000 a month, when in truth she was
unemployed, they said.
In 2009, the couple filed for bankruptcy protection, concealing
businesses they owned, income from rental property, and Teresa
Giudice’s income from the "Housewives" show, prosecutors said.
(Editing by Barbara Goldberg, Eric Walsh and Mohammad Zargham)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
