Teresa and Joe Giudice were sentenced Thursday, October 2, 2014. The couple was convicted of wire and bankruptcy fraud. Teresa was sentenced to prison for 15 months and Joe was sentenced to 41 months followed by a potential deportation to Italy. He was also ordered to pay $414,000 in restitution.

Teresa pleaded to the judge for house arrest, instead of time behind bars, so she could care for her children. Instead the judge was lenient and staggered their sentences. Teresa will begin serving her sentence January 5, 2015.  Once she has completed her sentence, Joe will begin his.

Before sentencing Teresa begged the judge for leniency. Teresa said she didn’t care about handbags, which was in reference to a photograph taken last month. Tabloid magazines featured Teresa on their covers, carrying a new expensive handbag. The magazines ridiculed the Jersey housewife’s bankruptcy situation and suggested that she did not take the charges seriously. The judge didn’t buy it saying, “I need to send a message. In the eyes of the law it doesn’t matter who you are. There are consequences to pay.”

The conspiracy has unraveled throughout this year. On March 4, 2014, Teresa and Joe entered a guilty plea to 41 counts of fraud, following a deal struck with federal prosecutors. The couple was accused of engaging in bank, mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud. The net amount has not been confirmed or denied, but reportedly the couple received over $5 million over a 10-year period.