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Melissa & Joe Gorga: Frauds Too?

Joe melissa

Credit: Photo by: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images

Over Easter weekend, Melissa and Joe Gorga enjoyed a weekend away at the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, behaving as if they didn’t have a financial care in the world. However, Star has found that they have more in common with Joe’s troubled sister and brother-in-law, Teresa and Joe Giudice, than they would ever care to admit!

After an extensive investigation into the Real Housewives of New Jersey stars’ lavish lifestyle, Star has uncovered a trail of bounced checks, delinquent loans and thousands of dollars in debt — all for the sake of competing with rich friends and appearing wealthier than they really are. Reps for the couple deny any problems, but concerned friends say that if the Gorgas aren’t careful, they could wind-up just like the Giudices, who face years in prison after pleading guilty to numerous counts of fraud.

“They are trying to live a lifestyle that they want to become accustomed to, but can’t,” an insider reveals. “It’s only a matter of time before it finally catches up with them.”

The insiders say that Joe and Melissa have always had expensive taste, but getting cast on the Bravo reality show proved to be their financial downfall. The pair was forced to sell their mansion in Montville Township, N.J., but didn’t learn from their mistakes. In fact, just this January, Joe tweeted plans for yet another oversized “dream home.”

“Joe and Melissa definitely have a bad reputation, and their credit history doesn’t track well,” the source observes. In fact, nearly going into foreclosure was just one of many financial missteps the duo has made — this has resulted in $35,000 worth of tax liens filed against them from the state of New Jersey and more than $130,000 civil lawsuits.

The Gorgas are clearly in a dangerous spiral of debt and spending — and they may want to be careful. “When Teresa and Joe started flaunting money on the show, the Feds watch them very closely…and busted them,” the insider adds. “There’s no way they aren’t watching the Gorgas now.”

MORE LINKS

Teresa & Joe Giudice: Business as Usual After Guilty Plea

EXCLUSIVE Q&A: Teresa Giudice’s Daughter Talks Family Problems With Star 

Teresa Giudice Talks Legal Trouble: “I Can’t Just Be Upset”

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