Apollo Nida pled guilty to mail, wire, and bank fraud charges that amassed over $2.3 million in four years, in court on Tuesday, May 6. By accepting the guilty plea, Nida, who is married to attorney Phaedra Parks of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, will face up to 30 years in prison and a fine up to $1 million on top of an unspecified restitution amount, the Associated Press reports. His official sentencing is set for July 8.
Assistant District Attorney Alana Black detailed in court how Nida, 35, carried out the elaborate scheme to defraud more than 50 people, government agencies, and financial institutions. By opening a fake debt collection agency, he was able to obtain access to databases full of individuals’ personal information. In turn, he would use people’s identities to find unclaimed funds, refunds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, stolen U.S. treasury checks, and refunds from fraudulent U.S. income tax returns in 11 states. In addition, he received payments from auto loans for non-existent cars by creating fake documents.
Nida’s partner Gayla St. Julien assisted officials after her September 2013 arrest in exchange for a plea deal. Nida instructed St. Julien to open mailboxes and checking accounts using the fake identities in order to cash the stolen checks. She was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay restitution for her involvement in the scheme.
When given the opportunity to speak in court, Nida said he accepted full responsibility for his actions and apologized for hurting those who were affected by his actions. He detailed how he felt pressured to keep up appearances besides his wife, who allegedly reels in $600,000 for her appearance on the highly-rated Bravo TV show, known for depicting elaborate lifestyles. Nida maintains that Parks had no involvement in the crimes, saying he kept their family in the dark by telling her he was working for a debt collection agency.
In a shocking move during The Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion, Nida confronted “housewife” Kenya Moore, who has repeatedly taken jabs at him. Nida shouted to Moore that if he was sent to prison, then he would give her information to put money on his books. No word on whether Moore will take him up on that offer, but she did offer her opinion on ex-cons.
You can have a criminal past and not have a criminal mind. They can be rehabilitated. All ex-cons are not current criminals. To be crystal
— KENYA MOORE (@KenyaMoore) May 7, 2014
Nida, on the other hand, hasn’t been handling the criticism very well with a series of recent tweets responding to negative comments and jokes about his pending sentencing.
TALK SHIT PEOPLE!! I EXCEPTING ALL THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS.
— APOLLO NIDA RHOA (@apollonida03) May 7, 2014