Crime, New Jersey, Reality TV, Television

Real Housewife of New Jersey Still Trying To Get Out Of Trouble With The Law

Will this legal ploy work to her advantage?

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Ed. note: Please welcome Jenny M. Brandt, who will be covering celebrities and the law. You can read her full bio at the end of this post.

Real Housewives of New Jersey table-turner Teresa Giudice was indicted with her husband for a slew of charges including mail fraud, wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and making false statements on a mortgage application.  Giudice has filed for a separate trial from her husband, Joe. The motion, available via PACER, reveals interesting details about the alleged fraud…

In support of the motion, Teresa’s husband filed a declaration.  The declaration states that he intends to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights at a joint trial but would testify on Teresa’s behalf if they had separate trials.  Joe would testify that Teresa was essentially ignorant of much of what went on that gave rise to criminal charges.  He says she had no knowledge of the misrepresentations on loan and lines of credit applications; she was unaware that properties were acquired in her name; she was unaware certain businesses were owned in her name; that Joe, his business partner, and their lawyer signed Teresa’s name without her knowledge; and the banks knew this.  Interesting.

Though it seems farfetched that someone would be completely ignorant as to their husband’s business dealings and that properties and businesses were acquired in their name, anyone who watches RHONJ knows that Teresa Giudice seems like a complete moron.  I do not put it past her to have no idea where her money came from, what her husband did for a living, or to sign a document without reading it. The question is whether a jury will buy it.  We shall see. The trial is set for April 14, 2014.

Jenny M. Brandt is a criminal defense and appellate attorney in the Bay Area, California. She loves all things criminal law, celebrity gossip, and corgis, and has a blog at www.juicejusticeandcorgis.com. She graduated from UCLA (’05) and UCLA School of Law (’09) with a concentration in Critical Race Studies.

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