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Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas could have a long road of legal ramifications ahead of them.

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In mid-March, records obtained by PEOPLE revealed that the two Real Housewives of New Jersey stars were each issued tax liens totaling $3 million, with Teresa owing $303,889.20 and Ruelas owing nearly $2.6 million, in addition to a still-open case for $163,523.94 from December 2024.

According to Mitchell Newmark, the former Deputy Attorney General of New Jersey who now specializes in tax law, a tax lien is advanced through the court system after an individual is made aware of their tax debt but has not taken the appropriate action to respond to it.

“If the debt goes final, either because you don't challenge the assessment or you challenge it, but you lose in court and you don't pay, then they can seek to collect, and that's when you wind up with a tax lien,” Newmark explains. “The question is, ‘Why is it there a lien? Is the money actually really owed, or is there some mistake going on?’ Usually, the state's pretty good.”

Looking ahead, Ruelas and Teresa, who served 11 months in prison for mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud in 2015, must respond to the liens and come to an agreement with the IRS about how they will clear their debts, says Alan Feigenbaum, a matrimonial lawyer based in New York.

“If there's taxes that are owed and let's say the IRS determination is not challenged and you still refuse to pay your taxes, there's potential criminal liability,” he explains. “I suspect that it is going to be contested, although I don't know. It's certainly very serious, especially with numbers of that magnitude. If you ignore that, like I said, there's the potential risk for civil consequences and/or criminal consequences.”

To read the full article, please click <a href="https://people.com/legal-experts-weigh-in-on-teresa-giudice-and-luis-ruelas-tax-debt-exclusive-11706939">here</a>.

"Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas’ $3M Tax Debt: ‘It’s Certainly Very Serious’," by Liza Esquibias was published in <a href="https://people.com/legal-experts-weigh-in-on-teresa-giudice-and-luis-ruelas-tax-debt-exclusive-11706939">PEOPLE</a> on April 1, 2025.

Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas’ $3M Tax Debt: ‘It’s Certainly Very Serious’

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Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas’ $3M Tax Debt: ‘It’s Certainly Very Serious’

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