Teresa Giudice of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" is reportedly suing her former bankruptcy attorney, James Kridel. According to People, the Bravo star's suit alleges that her current 15-month prison sentence is due to negligence on the part of the bankruptcy lawyer.
Giudice's malpractice attorney Carlos Cuevas told People that Kridel's "legal malpractice is the reason why she is incarcerated."
The mother of four has been represented by Kridel in her bankruptcy case since 2009. She was sentenced to 15 months in prison after she and her husband Joe pleaded guilty to charges of bank, mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud. However, Kridel told People that Giudice's incarceration is due to crimes she committed, which he had not participated in.
"She had about 2.5 hours of testimony before she went to jail where she took full responsibility for the crimes," said Kridel to the publication.
He added that he read the transcript and the judge made it clear that she had originally decided not to send her to jail, but because she falsified her assets before the sentencing, the judge ultimately decided to send her to prison.
Kridel revealed to the magazine that the judge chastised Giudice for a number of things, from failing to file income taxes — which he said occurred years before he knew her — to falsifying documents for mortgages.
Cuevas, however, claims in his 53-page complaint that Kridel filed court documents that were inaccurate and led to the final outcome of his client getting incarcerated. The suit seeks to recover an unspecified amount of damages, as it claims Giudice "has suffered significant monetary damages because of Defendant Kridel's negligence."
Giudice has served six months of her 15-month prison sentence so far at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut. She will be released on Dec. 23 and will serve the rest of her sentence in her New Jersey home. After the reality star completes her sentence, Joe, who was given 41 months behind bars, will begin serving his time in jail.
