"Housewives" Couple Due in Court; Kidnapped Teen Shares Story
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: They are headed to court, though. No more fun on the TV. They are headed to federal court. Both expected to plead not guilty and the charges are federal. The couple accused of, among other things, exaggerating their income on loan applications and hiding assets in a bankruptcy filing. Does make for some good watching, doesn't it? I hate to say it, because it is high rated. Joining me is CNN entertainment correspondent, Nischelle Turner, and back with us is criminal defense attorney, Danny Cevallos. I'm laughing over here because I know you've had to follow this</s>NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes.</s>BANFIELD: -- this as a big story. This is a massive franchise, "The Real Housewives." It's not a small case.</s>TURNER: No, it's not. If convicted on all of these charges, they could go to prison for up to 50 years.</s>BANFIELD: Fifty?</s>TURNER: 50.</s>BANFIELD: Oh.</s>TURNER: Each of them. Here's the indictment right here. 39 counts is what they were indicted on -- bank fraud, mail fraud, loan application fraud charges, lots of different things that are all spelled out in this indictment. It is not a small case. It definitely isn't. You just spoke with it, some of the things that they alleged that they were making up incomes for themselves in order to get bang loans, in order to get home loans, in order to get --</s>BANFIELD: And then saying it live on TV, right?</s>BANFIELD: And showing the evidence to the whole country.</s>TURNER: Right. Well, during the first season, at one point, she was shopping for furnishing her new home and had a wad of money and spent $120,000, it seemed, in cash to buy furniture for her new home. It begs the question, who walks around with $120,000 in cash to do something like that?</s>BANFIELD: I've got to ask the question. Nischelle has been covering this story for years. They have been on TV for years. The evidence seems to be fun to look at and there's far more deep-seeded evidence in the paperwork that the feds have been able to discover?</s>DANNY CEVALLOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The fed is not able to file a case based on some one holding a wad of cash. When the federal government makes a case they want it to stay made. They do not kid around. Believe me, the sentencing guidelines are much harsher than they are going to be in state court. Basically, what the allegations here, for them to make these false statements, it doesn't mean that they numbered a little when they filed something. They flubbed numbers. When they filed for bankruptcy said, oh, wait, we don't have any money. I liken this to ladies out there, if you've ever gotten divorced, this is exactly what men do. They say, look at my Marsarati, I've got ton of cash, and then when they get divorced, they say I'm broke. That's why they did.</s>CEVALLOS: But to get there, they had to falsify documents. The federal government said they are going to make fraud their number-one priority. Whether or not you watch "The Real Housewives" or not, this is a very socially relevant issue. Mortgage fraud devastated this country. It's a very socially relevant topic.</s>BANFIELD: It's a great example because a lot of people know who they are, even if they don't watch -- I don't watch "The Real Housewives," I know that lady because she tipped over the table and I saw it over and over on every promo. Nischelle, I know you'll get to the final resolution of this. Thank you. And I know you were running up here because you were tracking the last of the developments.</s>TURNER: I know.</s>BANFIELD: Nischelle Turner, thank you so much.</s>TURNER: Sure.</s>BANFIELD: Danny Cevallos, stand by, if you will. We have a lot more legal stories to cover, including, California teenager was kidnapped by a family friend. You know the story. But now this young woman has taken to the Internet to share her personal details. You won't believe some of the things she said, but was it a good idea to say them at all?</s>WENDI WALSH, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Sometimes in a numb state, you're doing things that you don't really -- really consider the consequences.</s>BANFIELD: You'll hear Hannah Anderson's own words, coming up next.