Apollo Nida: Can’t Always Trust A Pretty Face (No nickname found) By: Ashley Williams

Background Born November 19, 1978 (Age 36) in Atlanta, Georgia Grew up poor with a drug addict mother Biracial (German and African-American) Foster child after mom’s death Moments of homelessness No education until 3 rd grade Caucasian half of his family had racial bias towards him and referred to him as the N-word

Background Cont. Dad never was in his life Has one brother, Everett Nida, in jail for 20 years to life for grand theft auto (stealing an automobile) and multiple house/store robberies Married Phaedra Parks in 2009 (lawyer and funeral director) Has two sons (Dylan and Ayden) Currently in jail with pending divorce and has not seen his children since sentencing

Crime Committed Starting September 2010, Apollo knowingly attempted to execute a scheme to defraud federally insured financial institutions by depositing stolen and fraudulently obtained checks and fraudulently obtained loans for bank accounts opened in the stolen identities of real people. Basically, he committed identity theft (steal contact information and social security) and bank fraud (the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution) Nida stole U.S. Treasury checks, retirement checks issued to Delta Airlines employees, and checks in the names of real people that were owed unclaimed property from various state and federal government agencies. Sentenced to 8 years in prison at the Lexington Prison in Kentucky with 5 years of parole supervision afterwards

Evidence There are 1000’s of pieces of evidence but these are just a few: Numerous bank accounts were opened at the Bank of America using stolen identities made by Apollo’s fake businesses People who had their identities stolen stepped forward and the fake checks they “signed” were made by Nida’s fake businesses Nida's fake companies fraudulently signed up with LexisNexis, Equifax, and Mircrobilt databases to steal personal information on people. There were two locations Nida used as fake business addresses to set up and gain access to the databases were on: 1) Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Norcross; and 2) Arrowhead Road in Jonesboro Once there was a warrant for his arrest and further research was done on these fake businesses and accomplices, it was found out through the banks and recorded conversations that an estimated $1.9 million was stolen and now owed. Some of the heavy hitters: -- JP Morgan Chase $828, IRS $127, Delta Airlines $24, State of California $15, State of Connecticut $45, State of Texas $39,275

Quotes “I will not walk away empty-handed considering all I’ve put into the marriage over the 5 years. That’s completely fair, I think. It wouldn’t be right for her to just take everything and leave me with nothing to come home to.” –Apollo said this in an interview in 2014 when asked how he feels about Phaedra possibly divorcing him when he goes to jail and getting full custody of everything. “I can’t see why she would continue to hurt me by not allowing me to see my boys. If I don’t see my children my children for 8 years, that would be some bulls***. I’d fight for that right.” – Apollo said this in an interview when asked about the possibility of Phaedra not bringing the kids to the prison to visit him. “Don’t do as I do, but take my experiences and hope that it will give you a better platform.” –Apollo said while awaiting the day he would have to turn himself in. He made claims that he knew he was in the wrong and did not want people to follow in his footsteps.

Theory on Deviance Apollo most likely struggles with psychological issues due to his upbringing. His brother got into crimes as well. Apollo watched his mother die from an overdose and never had a stable home. He also probably has sociological issues because of his lack of education until 3 rd grade. He was abandoned and rejected by his family and coped in a negative way. For someone who experienced homelessness and poverty, hustling on the streets and committing bank fraud/identity theft probably gave him an adrenaline rush and reinforced his financial stability. This is a classic case of the more money you come across, the more problems you see. Nida falls under the Social Control Theory. Apollo was married and had two children. He lived in a million dollar home and had a plentiful bank account between his wife and himself. He had a secure job and his wife had/has secure jobs. They are both also making money from the RHOA. Because Nida’s mom was a drug addict and his brother was a thief, many most likely expected Nida to engage in criminal activity as well. From the time Nida was a little kid, he had social bonds weakened and severed; he just reached his breaking point.

Cultural References No books have been written about him; however, he plans on writing a tell-all. Currently, no songs about him. TV- He was on a reality show called Real Housewives of Atlanta. The show followed his story and his wife’s reactions to his story prior to his sentencing. Clip (go to 31:52 and let run through)-