‘Real Housewives’ Star Teresa Giudice’s Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Finally Settled

Teresa Giudice, one of the stars of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” recently settled her nearly five-year-old Chapter 7 bankruptcy, discharging more than $13.5 million in debt she and her husband had accrued.

According to FashionNStyle.com, the $13,480,263.11 in debt that Teresa and her husband Joe Giudice have racked up over the years is now officially discharged. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy case had more than 45 claimants, but Teresa managed to keep some of her assets — among them her 2007 Cadillac, Kawasaki Quad and a 2005 Maserati, the article reported.

The FashionNStyle.com article said that some $15,000 worth of possessions, mostly furniture and other household items, were taken from the couple’s home as part of the bankruptcy settlement.

“Chapter 7 bankruptcy is good for discharging unsecured debts, things like credit cards and medical bills as well things that don’t have any sort of collateral,” says attorney Charles Huber of Charles Huber Law. “The fact that this has gone on for 5 years probably had to do with a trustee having to sort stuff out with the case, typically these cases take 4-5 months.”

While this bankruptcy settlement closes the door on one of Giudice’s legal troubles, she and her husband could soon be facing prison time for federal fraud, FashionNStyle.com reported. One of the charges in the couple’s upcoming September 23rd case is bankruptcy fraud, according to a September 3 RealityTea.com article.

So while the Giudices have won one small battle in the war of their legal troubles, it’s still not guaranteed that they’ll be returning on the next season of “The Real Housewives.”