Joe Giudice has accepted a plea deal in a fraud and forgery case in which he has been accused of using his brother's birth and marriage certificates to get a fake driver's license in 2010.
- October 16, 2014
AceShowbiz -
Teresa Giudice's husband, Joe Giudice, accepted a plea deal in a fraud and forgery case on Wednesday, October 15 in Patterson, New Jersey. Joe was sentenced to 18 months in jail. The sentence will run concurrently with his previously arranged 41-month prison sentence.
Joe, who was accused of using his brother's birth and marriage certificates to get a fake driver's license in 2010 after his was suspended because of a drunken-driving conviction, initially turned down the deal offered by judge but he later reconsidered.
"He rejects it for a simple reason - and that reason is he maintains his innocence, he said he did not do what is charged in the indictment and wants to exercise his right to a trial," said Joe's lawyer Miles Feinstein.
Passaic County Judge Adam Jacobs then told Joe to think things through, saying, "You're making a momentous decision, there's no going back after this." After a lunch break, Joe accepted the deal.
Miles shot down rumors which said Joe and Teresa were going to divorce. "I know nothing about filing for divorce," he said, "In fact, I would say 100 percent that's not true."
Earlier this month, Joe and Teresa were sentenced to jail for fraud charges and ordered to pay restitution of $414,588. Teresa will begin serving her 15-month sentence on January 5 while Joe will serve his 41-month sentence later.
According to New York Daily News, Joe, whose real name is Giuseppe, will probably be deported back to Italy after finishing his sentence because he's not an American citizen although he has been living in New Jersey since he was a baby.
