REAL Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice and her husband Luis Ruelas’ combined $3 million tax debt could make her a target for feds because of her past fraud prison sentence.
The U.S. Sun previously reported Teresa, 52, and Luis, 49, were hit with tax liens totalling $3,037,255.2.
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This comes after her 2013 bankruptcy fraud and bank fraud case, where Teresa served 15 months in federal prison, while her then-husband, Joe Giudice, served a 41-month sentence.
The U.S. Sun spoke with Beverly Hills attorney Adam Michael Sacks, who revealed the financial issues could make her a target for feds because of her criminal history.
The attorney said, “The real connection is if you’re dealing with the IRS. She already committed fraud. They can say, ‘You already have a record of fraud.’
“This may really stick with not just owing the money, but having a bigger problem.”
“You’re not supposed to evade taxes. The dumb person can get away with it, but the deliberate person who is deliberately not paying, that’s criminal offense.
“These are financial claims, they can become a criminal case, but normally you would need to show bad actions, such as fraud.”
Adam explained how feds look into if there is criminal activity through forensic accounting, including odd bank transfers, cash transactions and more.
The attorney explained how Teresa and Luis could’ve found themselves in tax debt, as he said when working for a network or as a contractor, taxes often are not deducted when paychecks are issued.
“It’s very common to spend all the money and not put anything aside,” he explained. “At the end of the year. You owe a lot of money, a third or more and they don’t have it.”
RHONJ put ‘on pause’ by Bravo in abrupt schedule shakeup after ‘disaster’ season and fans calling for cast to be fired
Teresa and her ex-husband Joe, who she officially divorced from in 2020, were charged with 39 counts of fraud in July 2013.
They each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud by concealment of assets, bankruptcy fraud by false oaths and bankruptcy fraud by false declarations. Joe additionally pleaded guilty to failure to file a tax return.
TAX TROUBLE
The U.S. Sun exclusively reported Teresa and Luis were hit with over $3 million in taxes.
New Jersey courts confirmed Teresa was issued a tax lien on March 20, 2025 for $303,889.20.
Teresa’s husband was slapped with a tax lien on December 12, 2024 in the amount of $163,523.94 and on March 6, 2025 for $2,569,842.06.
In total, the couple, who married in 2022, owe $3,037,255.2.
A rep for Teresa and Luis did not respond to The U.S. Sun's request for comment on the tax debt.
FIRST HUSBAND DRAMA
The U.S. Sun also reported Teresa has an active tax lien from her marriage to her first husband.
Teresa and Joe’s Federal Tax Lien for $551,563.30 for the 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2013 years in October 2015 is still active.
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MANSION NIGHTMARE
Teresa's husband Luis has asked for an extension on a $1 million loan for their $3,350,000 mansion in Montville, New Jersey, which they purchased in January 2021.
The U.S. Sun previously reported Luis, who is the sole owner of the LLC used to buy the house, took out a one million dollar loan on March 25, 2024.
In addition to asking for an extension, Luis is also requesting $250,000 more.
A Mortgage Modification was filed with New Jersey courts on March 24, 2025.
Court papers obtained by The U.S. Sun read the $1 million loan given to Luis by a Florida limited liability company will mature, meaning final payment is due, on March 25, 2025.
“The Borrower has requested, and the Lender has agreed to extend the maturity date of the Initial Loan from March 25, 2025 to March 25, 2026,” the court papers read.
“The Lender is lending to Borrower an additional loan in the principal sum of $250,000.
“During the extended term of the Loan, the Borrower shall continue to make payments on the account of interest only as set forth in the Initial Note, on the 1st day of each month until March 25, 2026 on which date the unpaid principal balance, together with accrued interest and all other sums due from the Borrower to the Lender under the Note and Loan Documents shall become immediately due and payable.”
Luis also agreed to pay the Lender a loan fee of $5,000.
The couple initially did not take out a loan when they bought the seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom mansion.
NEW REALITY
The couple’s financial issues have been a storyline on RHONJ, as Teresa's co-stae Margaret Josephs said on Season 14 that Luis "pissed her money away."
Teresa denied the claims on Tori Spelling's podcast, misSPELLING, as she fired, "Margaret says my husband spends all my money. Like, b***h, you don't even know what you're talking about.”
"She's not even in my house. She's putting out this false narrative out there. And it's like, she's trying to make me her storyline."
Teresa also sparked concern among fans when she told Bravo's Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that she would not be getting a prenup with Luis before their lavish wedding.
Andy argued when he received pushback on the idea from Teresa and her oldest daughter, Gia, "Why wouldn't she sign a prenup?"
"You just put it in writing. Of course, they don't want to take anything from each other.”
For income, Teresa has a podcast called Turning the Tables, makes money from social media and has a lipstick line.
Luis is co-founder and executive vice president of business development for the Florida-based business Digital Media Solutions, among other businesses.
Real Housewives Franchises
Over the last few decades, there is currently 10 versions of the Real Housewives.
- The Real Housewives of Orange County (first aired in 2006)
The Real Housewives of New York City (first aired in 2008)
The Real Housewives of Atlanta (first aired in 2008)
The Real Housewives of New Jersey (first aired in 2009)
The Real Housewives of D.C. (only lasted one season in 2010)
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (first aired in 2010)
The Real Housewives of Miami (first aired in 2011, took a hiatus, then returned in 2021 and is a Peacock Original)
The Real Housewives of Potomac (first aired in 2016)
The Real Housewives of Dallas (first aired in 2016 and it's last aired in 2021)
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (first aired in 2020)
The Real Housewives of Dubai (first aired in 2022)
SHOW ON PAUSE
Teresa stars on the Bravo series with co-stars Dolores Catania, Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Jennifer Aydin, Danielle Cabral and Rachel Fuda.
The show is currently on pause, as Dolores gave insight exclusively to The U.S. Sun in December 2024 as to why the series is currently on hiatus.
“We have heard nothing from the bosses about our show. Nothing. Nothing from production nothing from NBC, we’re not even talking about it,” Dolores told The U.S. Sun.
“They’re probably just so mad at us by now, I’m not sure they know what to do.”
Dolores explained how the “fighting got out of hand,” resulting in the network leaving the show’s future up in the air.
She said, “A lot of things leaked, a lot of things [came out] on social media that shouldn’t have been, a lot of fighting outside [the show]. It just got too messy.”
Dolores also said she doesn’t believe the rumors that the network will fire the entire cast.
“I don't think they want to revamp the whole cast,” she said. “We’re an ensemble cast. Like us or hate us, like one person, love the next, hate the next, we worked good together on our best of days and on our worst of days.
“I would hate to see anybody not come back.”
In July, Andy sparked rumors of a complete cast reboot when he said on his SiriusXM radio show, “We are rebooting the show. We're going to reboot it. We're going to do something different.
"We're gonna see what we do. I don't know. Maybe just all fresh faces? Maybe. We'll see."
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