NEWSFLASH! The woman who snitched on Apollo Nida, husband of Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Phaedra Parks, about his alleged bank fraud operation, has pled guilty to several charges stemming from the investigation.
[FLASHBACK: Apollo Nida Charged With Bank Fraud & Identity Theft…]
Gayla St. Julien, the woman named as Nida’s co-conspirator in the case, was sentenced to serve a 61 month (5 years, 1 month) prison sentence earlier this week in an Atlanta U.S. District Court.
There were rumors flying that Phaedra was involved as well, however the amended complaint issued against Apollo, who is still negotiating a plea, doesn’t mention her name.
More details below…
In U.S. District Court Wednesday, Nida?s co-conspirator Gayla St. Julien pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, resulting in a 61-month prison sentence.
St. Julien worked with Nida from 2009 until 2013. The federal government filed a complaint charging him of the same two charges as St. Julien.
During her time working with Nida, she opened several fake bank accounts to launder money obtained fraudulently, the complaint alleged. A sampling of accounts listed in the complaint totaled about $3 million.
In court documents, St. Julien ?described herself as NIDA?s ?right hand b*tch in executing the legwork of his fraud schemes,’ wrote Alexandre Herrera, a U.S. Secret Service Agent in the Counterfeit and U.S. Treasury Check Squad.? She told Herrara she received ?scraps? compared to how much Nida pocketed.
Allegedly, he then:
– rented dozens of mailboxes at UPS stores and other places under various aliases, including the names of identity theft victims.
– created counterfeit drivers? licenses and other ID, applied for and received unclaimed funds from state governments impersonating the true owners.
– applied and received refunds due former homeowners from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
– purchased checks, including U.S. Treasury checks, from others knowing they were stolen and fraudulently obtained.
– created fake auto dealerships to obtain auto loan approvals using stolen identities.
– opened personal and business accounts at financial institutions using stolen identities to launder stolen and fraudulently obtained proceeds.
Phaedra’s name does not appear in the complaint and she told Bravo TV’s Andy Cohen recently on ?Watch What Happens Live? that she has nothing to do with that situation but plans to stand by her man.
“No, I have not filed for divorce, I am still very married? check out the ring,” Phaedra pointed out.
Still, Andy did get Phaedra to admit that it is a difficult time for the couple and their entire family.
“Of course it is, but we are where we are. We’ll support him; we are a family, he’s the father of my two beautiful kids,” Phaedra explained, concluding, “At the end of the day, I am a Southern belle and I believe in family and I will support him until this is resolved.”
Nida is scheduled to appear on part three of the ?Real Housewives? reunion shows May 4 to address his actions. He is currently a free man (U.S. District Judge Gerrilyn G. Brill released him on a pretrial bond of $25,000 last January — and no, he was not on parole prior to the bond).
On a lighter note, Apollo is reportedly still in talks with the feds for a plea deal.