For seven seasons, Abby Lee Miller was the imposing (and sometimes psychotic) dance instructor for Lifetime's hit reality show Dance Moms. On screen, it wasn't uncommon to see Miller berating her dancers, their moms, and anyone who had the misfortune to get in her way. However, behind the scenes, Miller was having serious financial problems.
In 2016, Miller pleaded guilty to a range of financial crimes, including bankruptcy fraud and concealment of assets. Apparently, had been hiding assets in a secret bank account at the same time she was filing for bankruptcy. In 2017, Miller was sentenced to a day and a year in prison, which she served.
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino first rose to fame as a cast member on MTV's reality show, Jersey Shore. Because of his obnoxious behavior on screen, he became a figure that viewers loved to hate. After his fame on the show, Sorrentino continued appearing on TV on shows like Dancing with the Stars and Celebrity Big Brother.
However, it appears that The Situation wasn't paying his fair share to Uncle Sam, as he was charged with tax evasion on more than $8 million in 2014. Sorrentino pleaded guilty to the charges against him in 2018 and served an eight-month prison sentence. It appears he's stayed out of legal trouble since then.
To say that Teresa Giudice has a bit of a temper problem would be an understatement. Giudice made her first television appearances on The Real Housewives of New Jersey and is probably most infamous for flipping a table during an argument with fellow housewife Danielle Staub. However, it wasn't her temper that got her in trouble with the law.
Instead, Giudice (and her husband, Joe) were charged with several counts of fraud and lying on loan applications. In 2014, she pleaded guilty to the charges against her and was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Giudice began her sentence in 2015 but only served about 12 months before being released early.
Joshua Tel Warner didn't have the biggest role as a deckhand on the Discovery reality show Deadliest Catch, but he did make several appearances on the show during 2008. At the time, no one on the show was aware of what he had done, but eventually, his crimes caught up with him.
A year before his TV appearance, Warner had robbed a bank, and after he returned home from filming, he robbed two more banks before being caught. It was actually his appearances on the show that helped people to identify him. Warner pleaded guilty to the charges and was senteced to nine years in prison in 2010.
Phaedra Parks is one of the most well-known women in the Housewives franchise, thanks to her memorable appearances on The Real Housewives of Atlanta for more than five years. During her time on screen, she was married to Apollo Nida, who would go on to be charged with crimes that Parks claimed to have no knowledge of.
Nida was arrested in 2014 for charges related to fraud and identity theft. It came to light that Nida had managed to accumlate more than $2 million using fake bank accounts set up using stolen identities. After cooperating investigators, Nida's prison term was reduced from a possible 30 years down to just eight.
Husband and wife duo Todd and Julie Chrisley first rose to fame thanks to their reality show, Chrisley Knows Best, that followed their work in the real estate business. Sometimes it looked like their lavish lifestyle was too good to be true, and, after their legal scandal, it appears that it was!
In 2022, both Todd and Julie were found guilty of numerous financial crimes, including bank fraud and tax evasion. After a highly-publicized, weeks-long trial, the Chrisleys were sentenced to twelve years (Todd) and seven years (Julie). Even after their convictions, the couple maintain their innocence and blame the crimes on business partners.
A not-insignificant portion of the Jersey Shore cast has faced legal problems at some point or another, and that includes Ronnie Ortiz. Ortiz is most famous on the show for his tumultuous relationship with Sammi Giancola and his hot temper. Unfortunately, his anger issues seem to have gotten him in trouble with the law.
In 2021, Ortiz was arrested for allegedly attacking a girlfriend, while on probation for another violence-related charge against a former girlfriend. Ortiz has yet to be sentenced for these newest charges, but he managed to avoid jail time the original charges, instead being sentenced to parenting classes.
No crime is a good crime, but many of the reality stars on this list found themselves tied up in financial misdeeds. However, some stars' stories are much darker than fraud or theft, including Geoffrey Paschel who first rose to fame after appearing on the TLC reality show 90 Day Fiance.
According to the charges against him, Paschel attacked his girlfriend at the time and prevented her from leaving his residence. The woman managed to eventually flee to a neighbor's house and Paschel was arrested. In 2022, Paschel was sentenced to 18 years in prison without the possibility of parole for his crimes.
The Real Houswives of Salt Lake City became one of the newest entries in the Houswives franchise when it first aired in 2020. Jen Shah has appeared on all three seasons, but it's not clear how she'll continue in the series, as she's currently serving a six-year sentence in prison.
According to information gleaned from her trial, Shah spent more than a decade in a telemarking scheme that had defrauded more than a hundred victims. While she first pleaded not guilty, she later changed her plea and began serving her prison sentence at the beginning of 2023.
We're not even sure how many seasons of Survivor there currently are, but none of the winners is probably as well-known as the OG winner of season one, Richard Hatch. During his time on the show, Hatch was probably most famous for frequently going nude, but these days, he's also well-known for his legal troubles.
In 2006, Hatch was convicted for failing to pay taxes on his reality show winnings, for which has was sentenced to 51 months in prison. However, he clearly didn't learn his lesson, as he was imprisoned again in 2011 for again failing to pay the taxes he owed. However, his second stint in prison was only nine months.
In 2020, Netflix released the reality documentary Cheer, which chronicled the lives and efforts of the Navarro College cheer team in Texas. While the show itself was very inspirational and uplifting, fans were shocked when one of the show's stars was charged with some seriously disturbing crimes in 2020.
In September of 2020, cast member Jerry Harris was charged producing inappropriate pictures of children, as well as sending and recieving explicit messages from minors on social media. Harris pleaded guilty to the charges against him in 2022 and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The second season of Cheer (released in 2022) addressed the then-allegations against Harris.
Considering she descends from hotel royalty (and put out one of "those" tapes), Paris Hilton probably would have been famous without a reality show, but her time on The Simple Life was infamous for showing the world just how inept she was at manual labor and rustic living.
While Hilton hasn't had as many legal problems as some people on this list, she has had her fair share of run-ins with the law, and most of them revolve around issues with alcohol and other substances. Hilton almost saw jail time in 2007 for a DUI, but her sentence was switched to house arrest shortly before she was supposed to report to prison.
American Guns was a short-lived Discovery reality show that aired from 2011 to 2012. The series focused on the Wyatt family who ran a gun shop in Wheat Ridge, Colorado until the shop's firearm license was revoked in 2012. Considering all that, we'll give you two guesses as to what sort of crimes family patriarch Richard Wyatt got caught up in.
In 2017, Wyatt was convicted for dealing firearms without a Federal Firearms License, as well as both personal and corporate tax evasion. He was sentenced to serve 78 months in prison. However, he was released early in July of 2020 thanks to a plea deal arranaged by the judge.
MTV's series Teen Mom has seen its fair share of volatile figures, but almost none of them have been as intense or memorable as Amber Portwood. During her time on the show, Portwood infamously assaulted her baby's father, Gary Shirley, on camera. For this, she was given a suspended sentece and two years of probation.
However, that wasn't the end of her violent ways. In 2019, she was charged with battery after breaking down a door with a machete and attacking her then-boyfriend, Andrew Glennon (who was holding their child at the time). Portwood was given another 2.5 years of probabtion, and Glennon was granted sole custody of their child.
Property Wars was a Discovery Channel reality show that originally aired from 2011 to 2012 and followed people who would bid on foreclosed homes sight unseen—think Storage Wars but much more expensive. However, not everything going on behind the scenes was above board, especially when it came to star Scott Menaged.
In 2017, Menaged was sentenced to 17 years in prison for charges related to multiple fraudulent schemes. According to prosecutors, Menaged's schemes affected more than 200 people who lost a combined $30 million. The investigation found that Menaged had stolen millions in loans to help fund his lavish lifestyle.
Thanks to her mom, Lynne Curtin, being a Real Housewives of Orange County regular, Alexa Curtin managed to get some screen time on the show as well. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like a life of fame and fortune has done Curtin any good, as she's had several run-ins with the law in the past.
After she received multiple charges for crimes related to illicit substances, Curtin eventually pled guilty and was sentenced to 68 days in jail. In addition to her jail time, Curtin was also given three years of probation and was forced to attend substance abuse classes.
(Images via Instagram; JB Lacroix/WireImage/Getty Images)
Maurice Fayne was once a staple on the reality show Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, but don't expect him to make many appearances anywhere for the next two decades! In 2020, Fayne found himself in hot water when he was charged with bank fraud related to PPP loans he took out during the pandemic.
In September of 2021, Fayne was forced to face the music, and he was found guilty on these charges. In addition to a prison sentence of 17 years, Fayne will be forced to repay the victims of his fraud to the tune of $4 million dollars. Federal attorneys on the case described Fayne's fraudulent actions as a "Ponzi scheme".
There really aren't any women in the Real Housewives franchise known for their restraint and decorum, but some cast members are much more badly behaved than others—just ask Julianne Wainstein, former cast member on The Real Housewives of New York. In 2020, Wainstein spent some time behind bars thanks to an altercation with her ex-husband.
After being charged with domestic battery, it was revealed that Wainstein had attacked her former husband in front of their children—including taking a baseball bat to his car. Despite this happening three years ago, there's no information on whether Wainstein has been convicted of what she has been charged with.
Who would have ever imagined that someone on a reality TV show called Mob Wives could be involved in illegal activities? Color us utterly surprised. Regardless, star Drita D'Avanzo and her husband, Lee, both found themselves in hot water in 2019 after police caught them red-handed.
During a raid on their home, police found numerous illicit substances and paraphernalia. To make things even trashier, their daughter was home during their arrest—I don't expect they'll be winning parents of the year anytime soon! While both were charged with possession of a controlled substance, Drita eventually had her charges dropped. Her husband, however, was not as lucky.
Amanda Stanton may be an old pro at reality dating shows (she appeared on both season 20 of The Bachelor as well as the spin-off Bachelor in Paradise), but it seems like she needs some more experience in learning to control her emotions and keep her hands to herself.
In 2018, Las Vegas police responded to a report of violence in Stanton's hotel room where the Bachelor alum allegedly was in a physical fight with her then-boyfriend. Stanton pleaded not guilty, and the charges were eventually dropped. Inexplicably, the couple remained together for another year after this violent altercation.
We're still holding out hope that one day the Kardashians will be put behind bars for good, but until then, we'll just have to settle for their occasional run-ins with the law. Several times in the past, Khloe Kardashian has had legal troubles thanks to her decision to drink and drive.
In 2007, Kardashian was convicted of driving under the influence but didn't originally see any jail time. Her time behind bars was actually because she violated her probation in the aftermath of her DUI. While she was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail, she got away with only serving three.
This is actually one celebrity story with a good ending. Jason Wahler (who originally appeared on the MTV shows Laguna Beach and The Hills) isn't afraid to discuss his sordid past, which included almost twenty arrests and multiple stints in rehab for alcohol abuse. However, the star was able to finally turn his life around.
According to Wahler, "Over the last 10 years, my life's totally made a complete 180." That includes focusing on his own recovery as well as helping others who might be in a similar situation as him. Normally we don't have much love for reality stars, but it's genuinely great that Wahler has been able to make such a transformation.
Considering how absolutely depraved everyone acted on Jersey Shore, it's something of a miracle that Snooki has managed to avoid major legal troubles after all these years. However, that doesn't mean her record is spotless. If you're a fan of the show, you got a front-row view of Snooki's run-in with the cops.
In 2010, during the filming of an episode, Snooki was arrested on the beach for public intoxication and disorderly conduct. While the charges against her were eventually dropped, the reality star was forced to pay a $500 fine and spend two days doing community service.
RHOOC alum Gina Kirschenheiter said that the "worst part" of her DUI arrest was going to jail. Call us crazy, but it sounds like the worst part of that ordeal was probably putting other people in danger with her reckless behavior. But what do we know? We're not rich housewives!
Nonetheless, Kirschenheiter's problems got even worse after a warrant for her arrest was issued when she didn't attend a hearing related to her charges. That ended up just being a paperwork error by her legal team, but it probably didn't make the whole situation any better for the reality star.
In 2016, Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian took their relationship public. As if that wasn't humiliating enough, only a few days later, the reality star made headlines again after being escorted off a plane and arrested. According to other passengers on the flight, Blac Chyna was clearly intoxicated and acting belligerent.
By the next year, the charges had been dropped against the reality star due to "good behavior", but it's not exactly clear what that good behavior actually was. Regardless, sharing a child with Rob Kardashian and having him in your life is probably punishment enough. We'd almost call it cruel and unusual!
