Apollo Nida, Real Housewives of Atlanta star and husband of Phaedra Parks, is feeling the heat after being questioned by the US Marshals in Atlanta, Georgia on suspicion of bank fraud and identity theft.
On Thursday, the reality star appeared in front of US District Court before being granted pretrial bail for $25,000. Media reports say Nida was being investigated by Secret Service’s Counterfeit and U.S. Treasury Check Squad for creating “fake companies, enabling him to access databases to find individuals to rip off.”
The complaint also alleges he opened fake bank accounts under those real names and funneled stolen U.S. Treasury checks and auto loan funds into those accounts.
Atlanta Access continues:
“[U.S. Secret Service Agent Alexandre Herrera] n February 2012 began investigating alleged criminal activities of Gayla St. Julien, who he said was opening bank accounts under stolen identities to commit bank and check fraud. The investigation ran until September, 2013. At that point, they found 40 bank accounts tied to her. The complaint provided a sampling of bank accounts totaling about $3 million tied to alleged fraudulent activities.
The office also identified two fake debt-collection businesses used to ‘illicitly obtain personal identifying information of individuals.’ The companies used LexisNexis and Equifax database inquiries to steal identities. St. Julien was arrested on Sept. 11, 2013 by the Secret Service. She implicated Nida as the man who orchestrated many of the alleged fraudulent schemes. She had worked with Nida since 2009.
St. Julien ‘described herself as NIDA’s ‘right hand b****’ in executing the legwork of his fraud schemes,’ Herrera wrote. She told him she received “scraps” compared to how much he pocketed.”
A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 12. Nida will reportedly be represented by Parks.