Joe Giudice, a legal permanent resident in the US, was sentenced to 41 months in prison after pleading guilty in 2014 to charges of bankruptcy fraud, alongside his wife. He submitted false loan applications to access millions of dollars in mortgages and construction loans, and he also admitted to not paying about $200,000 in income taxes, according to The Associated Press .His federal sentence coincided with an 18-month sentence for unlawful use of an ID and impersonation.
A judge in Pennsylvania ruled in October thatGiudice, an Italian citizen who moved to the US as a toddler,would be deported from the United States after his release from prison.While his siblings and parents did become US citizens, Joe opted not to go through the process . He said through his attorneys that he wasn't aware he wasn't an American citizen.
Teresa Giudice served around a year in prison before being released in December 2015, later returning to the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" franchise. She told Andy Cohen that her husband "has tremendous guilt, but he's very positive, very strong." Despite that, she said she likely wouldn't move to Italy with her children if he was ultimately deported.
Giudice has filed an appeal to fight the deportation order.
The couple's oldest daughter, 18-year-old Gia Giudice, sent her dad positive wishes after his release last week, writing in an Instagram story that she was "sending you my love and strength today," according to Page Six . In October, she wrote that "my father is no threat to society he is one of the most warm hearted people I know... my fatherbelongs with us and his entire family."