10 Real Housewives Who Have Committed Crimes

Published on July 6, 2016.

We can’t get enough of the Real Housewives franchise, but some of the leading ladies are not the squeaky clean socialites they masquerade as! This list takes a look at some of the franchises’ most notorious housewives who have actually committed crimes!

10. Kim Richards

This Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star has been experiencing some legal troubles as of recently. In 2015 she was arrested and accused of trespassing, resisting arrest, and public intoxication. In spite of attending rehab, Kim found herself in hot water once more when she was arrested for shoplifting from a Target store only 4 months later! In her on-going legal drama, Kim is showing a lot of reluctance to reform and, in April 2016, a judge released an arrest warrant for Richards’ failure to attend AA meetings. The arrest warrant has since been withdrawn, but Kim may face further penalties if she is unable to prove she’s been following the order to attend AA classes!

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9. Peggy Tanous

Like Jacqueline Laurita, Real Housewives of Orange County former star Peggy Tanous experienced her own financial battles. Peggy and her then-husband, Micah, were reportedly in disputes with three banks over their mansion. Radar Online reported that Tanous missed 75 mortgage payments! Tanous had no choice but to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy as her income dropped to only $30,000 when she left the Real Housewives franchise. That’s gotta hurt!

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8. Kelly Bensimon

Kelly Bensimon of The Real Housewives of New York was arrested back in 2009 for allegedly punching her then-boyfriend. Ouch! The socialite and former model also ran into some legal drama when she was accused in a suit of copying a jewelry design.

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7. Teresa Giudice

I’d say 41 counts of federal fraud is enough to land you on this list, and that’s exactly what Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Guidice was charged with after she and her husband Joe were accused of everything from conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud to defrauding banks and tax evasion. Both parties were found guilty but were indulged with the special treatment of taking turns serving their prison sentences to take care of their family and keep their reality television roles alive. Joe received 41 months and Teresa served 15 months. Despite the couple’s criminal activity, fans have not wavered in their support. And that’s a good thing! Teresa and her husband are on the hook for a reported $13 million big ones. Good thing the cameras are still rolling.

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6. Danielle Staub

New Jersey must be a pretty happening place for the crooked! Fellow RHONJ star Danielle Staub has quite the interesting past that came to a confrontational head in the finale of the first season. Back in the ’80s, Staub was arrested and prosecuted on charges of possession of cocaine and an alleged extortion plot with her boyfriend at the time. Staub was then known as Beverly Merrill and she pleaded guilty to extortion charges and was sentenced to 5 years probation. Years later, Kevin Maher, Staub’s ex hubby, decided to write a book, Cop Without a Badge, in which he accuses Staub of being an escort and a stripper. The book became popular because of The Real House Wives of New Jersey when the women decided to play detectives and uncover Staub’s supposed past. The blow out that ensued was one for reality television history! Busted!

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5. Jacqueline Laurita

Like a long list of Real Housewives, Jacqueline Laurita and her hubby Chris have faced some serious financial woes. The couple were sued by the bank that held their mortgage based on accusations of missing payments. Jacqueline of The Real Housewives of New Jersey cast has also been accused of owing state taxes.

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4. Apollo Nida

Déjà vu struck Real Housewives fans when Phaedra Parks’ husband, Apollo Nida, was sentenced to 8 years in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release for “conspiring to commit mail, wire, and bank fraud.” Seems pretty harsh compared to the Giudice’s penalty! The Real Housewives of Atlanta star has since filed for divorce. As of April 2016, the divorce has not been finalized, but Parks has expressed her interest in getting into politics…

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3. Bethenny Frankel

So Bethenny Frankel is not a criminal, but she is certainly no stranger to the courtroom. Besides battling it out with her ex-hubby over custody issues for daughter, Bryn, Bethenny has also faced accusations of not being on the up-and-up with her business dealings. Frankel settled the $100 million lawsuit that had been filed by the management company, Raw Talent, that alleged Bethenny had left them out of a very lucrative Skinnygirl Cocktail deal when she sold the company. The settlement that was reached was not made public, but it must have cost Frankel a pretty penny to get the management company to go away!

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2. NeNe Leakes

NeNe Leakes admitted in her biography, Never Make the Same Mistake Twice, that when she was in her early 20s, she was arrested for shoplifting. What she left out, however, was that she was also charged with 3 felonies and 1 misdemeanor for theft of services from a phone company! She was found guilty and was placed on 2 years’ probation and forced to pay restitution. The cuffs were slapped on her again when she was arrested three times over the next 2 years. More recently, in 2013, Leakes remarried her ex-husband Gregg Leakes and was accused by her wedding planner of failing to pay a balance of more than $1 million! Wedding planner, Tiffany Nieves-Cook added defamation to her lawsuit when NeNe took to Twitter to state that she never even hired Tiffany. Seems that NeNe can’t quite stay out of trouble!

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1. Marlo Hampton

NeNe Leakes ironically used to rag on former Real Housewives of Atlanta star, Marlo Hampton for her criminal past. Hampton has quite the history of violence and has been arrested at least seven times! Court records reveal that at the age of 23, Hampton was arrested for “Aggravated Battery/Great Bodily Harm,” which is a first degree felony! She was found guilty and served four months in jail. Additional arrests were for parole violations, “Obtaining Property or Services in Return for Worthless Checks, Drafts, or Debit Card Orders (under $150),” and firearm possession!