RHOA Star Apollo Nida Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

Real Housewives of Atlanta star Apollo Nida has been sentenced to eight years in prison for fraud and identify theft.

The convicted conman was arrested back in September 2013 after defrauding individuals, financial institutions and government agencies out of $2.3million.

Nida, along with his accomplice Galyla St Julien, created shell companies to gain access to records full of people's personal information. He would then use the identities to open bank accounts to deposit stolen cheques from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

During the trial Nida, who previously spent five years in prison for racketeering, claimed his fraudulent activities was spearheaded by his desire to maintain a lavish lifestyle. When his wife Phaedra Parks signed a $600,000 contract to join the RHOA cast she started earning more than him.

He also insisted that Parks had no knowledge of his crimes as he told her he was running a legitimate debt collection firm.

"It was a dumb situation I put myself in," he said. "I got sucked in and engulfed and lost sight of things."

Taking full responsibility for his actions, the father-of-two said: "I want to apologise to the victims. I want to apologise to my family for letting them down."

It is thought that his expected 30-year sentence had been significantly shortened after he struck a deal with federal investigators.