Teresa Giudice and husband Joe Giudice hit with two more fraud counts in newly-returned indictment

Teresa Giudice and Giuseppe "Joe" Giudice's legal troubles have gone from bad to worse.


A federal grand jury has come back with a new superseding indictment against The Real Housewives of New Jersey couple that adds two new charges to 39 counts they were already facing from their prior indictment in July.

The grand jury returned a new indictment with a total of 41 counts on Monday, The Star-Ledger reported, adding new charges of bank fraud and loan application fraud against Teresa and Joe.

Each new count reportedly carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The bank fraud and loan application fraud charges allegedly stem from a $361,250 mortgage the couple applied for in July 2005 in which Teresa claimed she was working as a realtor and made $15,000 a month when she was actually not working at all.

All of the other 39 counts listed in the original indictment against the Giudices still stand, according to the newspaper.


"As she did with respect to the allegations contained in the original Indictment, Teresa intends to plead 'not guilty' to the allegations in the new Indictment," Teresa's lawyer Henry Klingeman said in a statement obtained by The Star-Ledger.

"She looks forward to defending herself. Beyond that, we will answer all of the charges in court, not out," he added, noting the couple's trial is scheduled to begin on February 24.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey stars pleaded not guilty to their first set of charges in August.

Federal authorities in Newark, NJ announced at the time the Giudices were being charged with "conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements on loan applications, and bankruptcy fraud," The Star Ledger reported.

The original indictment also charged Joe with failure to file tax returns between 2004 and 2008, a period during which he allegedly made $1 million. Sources claim Teresa and Joe may receive whopping fines if convicted of all the charges besides the jail time. 


Teresa -- who also appeared on The Celebrity Apprentice's fifth season -- and Joe insist they're being targeted by the government because of their celebrity status.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski