"Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Phaedra Parks' husband, Apollo Nida, has been charged with identity theft and bank fraud. According to Access Atlanta, Nida is being investigated by the Secret Service's Counterfeit and U.S Treasury Check Squad.
Allegedly Nida created several fake companies to obtain personal information and steal the identities of unsuspecting people. He then supposedly used that information to open fake bank accounts under the victims' real names.
According to Access Atlanta, Nida would funnel money into the accounts from stolen U.S. Treasury checks, stolen retirement checks from Delta Airline eomployees and stolen checks that was supposed to go to people who unclaimed tax money. Nida was identified by a woman named Gayla St. Julien, who was arrested last September. St. Julien allegedly told Alexandra Herrera, a U.S. Secret Service Agent in the Counterfeit and U.S. Treasury Check Squad, that she was Nida's "right hand b**ch" in the scheme and she made "scraps" compared to what the reality star was making from the scheme.
The two have reportedly been working together since 2009. After St. Julien was arrested, agents had her tape a conversation with Nida in which he explained how the scheme worked, Access Atlanta reports.
Accoridng to Centric, during one of the recorded phone calls, St. Julien arranged to meet Nida at a store parking lot in Atlanta so she could pick up a debit card belonging to the fake business. At that time, agents decided to use a search warrant on Nida's car where they allegedly found several items linking Nida to the crime.
Nida has been granted pretrial bail and has already appeared in federal court on Jan. 23. St. Julien is scheduled to be sentenced in March 2014 and Nida is due back in court on Feb. 12, 2014 for a preliminary hearing.
Nida previously served time in prison from 2004 to 20096 for "for breaking federal racketeering laws related to auto title fraud."
