Reality star Apollo Nida was sentenced to eight years in federal prison on Tuesday, July 8 in a Georgia courtroom. Nida, who appears on the Bravo show "Real Housewives of Atlanta" with his wife Phaedra Parks, was facing charges for a massive money fraud scheme.
According to TMZ, Nida could have been sentenced to 30 years behind bars but he was reportedly given eight years for "spilling criminal secrets." A few months ago, Nida was arrested for laundering more than $2.3 million by using fake business and credit cards.
Apparently, Nida wasn't too pleased with the judge's sentence and appeared to be a little annoyed after the hearing, AccessAtlanta.com reports.
"The government did what they had to do," Nida reportedly said before getting into an elevator at the courthouse.
"Today's sentencing exemplifies impartial justice regardless of economic class or perceived celebrity status. Nida's sentence should be an eye opener for other like-minded criminals who scheme to steal victim's identities, defraud them and ignore the consequence of their actions," said Reginald G. Moore, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office, in a press release.
Reportedly the Bravo star's attorney, Thomas Bever, tried to get his client a reduced sentence but failed. Judge Charles Phannell did request that Nida be sent to an Atlanta prison so he could be closer to his family.
Parks and the couple's children live and film the reality show in Atlanta. A source told the site that Parks did not go to the hearing and has previously been dismissed of any connection to Nida's scheme.
Following the hearing, Bever said that Nida might be able to leave jail a year early for good behavior but he would be sent to a halfway house to finish out his remaining time. While in court, the reality star apologized to the victims affected by the scheme and to his family "for letting them down."
So far, Parks has not addressed her husband's legal troubles. This is not the first time, Nida has been sent to prison. He previously served six years due to a car theft scheme. Nida was released in 2009 and reportedly started the money laundering scheme shortly after.
Nida's partner, Gayla St. Julien, was also arrested and sentenced to 61 months in prison, according to AccessAtlanta. He is currently free on bond and is expected to start his prison sentence in the next few weeks.
