'Housewives' Phaedra Parks Denies Bank Fraud Involvement as Apollo Nida Considers Plea Deal
Phaedra Parks is maintaining her innocence months after her husband Apollo Nida was charged with bank fraud and identity theft.
The "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star reportedly filed a defamation lawsuit against her former friend, Angela Stanton, over explosive allegations made in Stanton's book "Lies of a Real Housewife." In 2012 Stanton accused Parks, 41, of running a car theft ring which allegedly involved Stanton, Nida and his brother Eric, however, the mother of two maintains that the allegations are "false."
Parks, an Atlanta-based attorney, filed an affidavit on March 31 in Gwinnett County, Georgia, as part of her ongoing lawsuit against Stanton.
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"Due to the falsity of the material in the book, and to protect her reputation, on or about September 26, 2012, [Parks] filed a defamation action against [Stanton]," legal documents obtained by RadarOnline.com reveal.
In the affidavit, Parks claims that she "verifies, under oath, that the allegations made by the Defendant in her Book and referenced in the Plaintiff's Complaint are false," and that Stanton "knew the statements she made about the plaintiff were false when she made them."
Stanton, who along with Nida and Eric was sentenced after federal law enforcement caught on to the criminal activity, maintains that they along with Parks were all involved in what she described as a "federal racketeering scheme," according to Vibe Magazine.
In January Nida, a convicted felon, surrendered to authorities on unrelated bank fraud and identity theft charges and Parks ultimately wants her name cleared. The couple has been married for four years.
Parks says she "has no knowledge of or connection with any 'bank fraud scheme,'" and "was never involved in any criminal enterprise with [Stanton]," documents state.
"I have never been arrested for a crime or charged with any crime," she insists in the affidavit. "I have never been questioned by any law enforcement agency about any possible involvement in a crime. I have never been involved in any criminal schemes with Defendant Stanton or anyone else. I have never committed any crime other than routine traffic violations."
Nida, 35, was reportedly questioned by U.S. Marshals in Atlanta, Georgia before being formally charged in federal court in January. He was later granted a pretrial bond of $25,000.
Nida, who was once convicted of felony possession of a firearm among other offenses, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and began serving his sentence in July 2004 before being paroled in 2009.
The bank fraud and identity theft case is ongoing as insiders claim Nida has until April 25 to either reach a plea deal with prosecutors or head to trial.
