An influencer couple pleaded guilty at the beginning of January. You can find out why they are facing prison sentences and what actually happened now.
An influencer couple has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges. Christopher and Raquelle Judge became known on social media for their renovation content. During this time, by their own admission, they defrauded more than 40 different people and generated around $5 Million.
The Fraud Scheme Went Undetected For Three Years
You heard that right. For a full three years, the Judge couple systematically scammed various clients. Between August 2020 and January 2023, they defrauded their victims of approximately $4.8 million.
The two mainly produced renovation content. Christopher Judge even marketed himself as a professional architect, despite never having completed any formal training. Promotion happened mainly on their social media channels.
The main reason so many clients made use of their services in the first place was the couple’s pricing policy. To attract customers, their renovation rates were below average, apparently not so far below that people became suspicious.
Another factor in their appeal to clients was the promised project timeline. Projects were supposed to be completed within four to six months. Unfortunately, that also wasn’t enough to set off alarm bells for the people.
Prison Instead Of An Influencer Lifestyle
Even worse than the financial damage is the level of calculation with which the Judges carried out their fraud scheme. At no point did they ever consider completing the projects they had started. To avoid drawing too much attention, they came up with a plan.
Clients’ money was transferred directly into their private accounts. From there, minimal work was carried out on the projects to ensure payments would continue. Contracted service providers who were supposed to work on the houses rarely delivered good quality and were just as rarely paid.
The excuse was always the same: the problems would be fixed as long as payments continued. At least, that’s what the court documents state.
The money was mainly used by the couple to finance their own home and maintain their lifestyle. Among other things, Amazon purchases and luxury goods are mentioned.
According to court records, the end result is at least 24 projects that were never completed. Clients were left on their own with unfinished or uninhabitable homes.
As it appears, justice is prevailing. Christopher Judge pleaded guilty on January 6, Raquelle already in December. He is facing around 20 years in prison, while her sentence is expected to be somewhat lighter, with up to five years of imprisonment.
The reason for the severity in Christopher’s case is likely a prior warning issued for falsely claiming to be a professional architect. He received this warning back in 2022.
Sentencing is scheduled to take place once on April 14 and once on May 12. We at EarlyGame will of course keep you up to date.
Are you shocked by how late this all came to light? Are you glad that the two are receiving their punishment? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments!