For months, reality TV junkies have been following the bankruptcy and fraud cases of Teresa Giudice, who, along with her husband Joe, became famous after being featured on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” The Giudices both received jail sentences last week in federal court for fraud related to their 2009 bankruptcy filing.
The Giudices were found guilty of a number of crimes, including intentionally being deceitful in their bankruptcy filings. However, anyone can make a true mistake in their bankruptcy filing. If you realize you have made a mistake, you need to contact a bankruptcy attorney as soon as possible. The consequences of an honest mistake may be severe, or at the very least, extremely inconvenient.
The couple filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2009, hoping to have $11 million worth of debt discharged. Soon after, the Chapter 7 trustee assigned to the case discovered that the Giudices had committed bankruptcy fraud by concealing assets and income. Among other things, they failed to report $250,000 Teresa received as a book advance, Joe’s partial ownership of a pizza shop, a bank account and vehicles.
After the bankruptcy fraud was discovered, federal investigators probed into the Giudice’s finances, uncovering instances of tax fraud and mortgage fraud.
The federal trial, which took place over the last four years, ended not only with jail sentences, but with the bankruptcy case being closed and the Giudices ordered to repay all their debts – a total of more than $13 million.
As has been widely reported, Mrs. Giudice’s 15-month sentence in minimum security prison starts in early January; her husband will serve his considerably longer sentence after she is released.
A crime is a crime; but a mistake is a mistake. If you have realized you made a mistake in your bankruptcy filing, speak to Joel R. Spivack, Esq right away. For more than 30 years, he has helped good people, like you, sort out their financial situations through bankruptcy. Don’t complicate your mistake by trying to solve your problems alone; Mr. Spivack can help.
