The “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star, Phaedra Parks, may literally be married to a partner-in-crime.
Parks’ husband, Apollo Nida, was charged with bank fraud and identity theft on Thursday Jan. 23. He was questioned by U.S. Marshalls the same day and was summoned to appear before U.S. District Court.
According to Access Atlanta, U.S. Secret Service agent Alexandre Herrera of the Counterfeit and U.S. Treasury Check Squad reported that Nida stole other people’s identity and private information by developing fake companies. He then “opened fake bank accounts under those real names and funneled stolen U.S. Treasury checks and auto loan proceeds into those accounts.”
The original criminal, Gayla St. Julien, has been under investigation since February 2012. However, in September, she tied Nida into the crime as well.
Julien, who refers to herself as “NIDA’s ‘right hand b****’” claimed that the RHOA reality co-star was the mastermind behind the scandals.
One scheme involved a bankcard for Ferrari Autohaus Inc., which is said to be a fake car dealership. A search warrant by authorities has confirmed this.
The criminal complaint reported by Access Atlanta details how their partnership worked:
“Nida would allegedly steal real people’s identities and have St. Julien pretend to be them to open bank accounts. She would then deposit fraudulent auto loan checks, stolen U.S. Treasury checks, stolen retirement checks issued to Delta Airlines employees, and checks in the names of real people that were owed unclaimed property from various state and federal government agencies.”
It’s no surprise that Nida is in trouble because in 2004 he was sentenced to five years in prison for a similar crime, which involved “breaking federal racketeering laws related to auto title fraud.”
Nida regularly appears on the reality show along with his wife. They have been together since 2009 and are parents to two sons together.
Parks is also an attorney herself, a celebrity attorney to be exact.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb 12, 2014. Maybe Parks will end up representing her ‘hubby’?
Located below is a HLN interview with Parks and Nida about his time behind bars: