Texas couple who ‘pitched themselves as Chip and Joanna Gaines’ found guilty in $5 million home building scheme

need to know

• Christopher and Raquel Judge admitted defrauding more than 40 homeowners through their company, Judge DFW LLC.

• Prosecutors allege the couple abandoned projects, misappropriated funds and claimed Christopher was a licensed architect.

• Victims face financial stress, with some spending millions to repair incomplete or unsafe structures

A Texas couple who federal prosecutors say defrauded dozens of homeowners out of nearly $5 million by promising custom homes and renovations.

Christopher Judge and his wife, Raquel Judge, both of Fort Worth, admitted in federal court that they conspired to defraud clients through their company, Judge DFW LLC, from August 2020 to January 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

Prosecutors said the couple collected millions in installment payments for custom architecture, construction and interior design services, often before abandoning the projects, often offering below-market bids — in some cases leaving families without livable homes.

“[They] started construction projects and accepted multiple installment payments from victims but never completed those projects, often leaving victims without complete housing,” said the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Texas.

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Documents seen by PEOPLE show more than 40 victims were affected in six North Texas counties, spanning at least 24 construction projects, with total losses of about $4.8 million.

One couple, documents show, paid judges nearly $364,000.

As part of the scheme, prosecutors said Christopher claimed to be a licensed architect, while the couple combined client payments into a single operating account and used money from one project to fund unrelated jobs.

On Tuesday, December 30, 2025, Christopher pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Raquel pleaded guilty on Dec. 17 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and faces up to five years in prison. Both also face restitution, fines and supervised release.

Sentencing for Raquelle is scheduled for April 14, 2026, while Christopher is scheduled for sentencing on May 12, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means.

PEOPLE has reached out to legal representatives for both Raquel and Christopher.

For the homeowners, the couple’s guilty pleas marked the culmination of years of financial stress and emotional turmoil.

Christine Newman told WFAA that she hired Judges for what she believed would be her dream home after paying off her law school loans. “I was planning on growing in this house,” Newman said.

He explained that Raquel handled most of the communications, while Christopher was known as “the architect and builder.”

Another victim – Lane Simmons – and his wife, Callie Simmons, experienced the same thing with the judges when they hired the couple to remodel their Euless family home.

“They came out to our house … and really pitched themselves like this Chip and Joanna Gaines kind of vibe,” Lane shared to WFAA, referring to the Magnolia home-renovation stars.

Progress on both properties looked good at first. “It started out great,” Newman said, per WFAA. “I had no problem.”

“That first day was very impressive,” Chelle Bish, Cali’s mother, told NBC-DFW. “They came with a full team. They threw it to the studs on day one.”

But that soon changed. “I’d say a month, maybe two months in, things started to slow down a little bit and we were already concerned about some of the quality stuff that my husband and dad pointed out,” Callie said, according to NBC-DFW.

Newman’s dream home also turned into a nightmare, he told WFAA. Construction has been delayed. Items he paid for, such as windows and doors, never arrived. When demanding a refund for the missing items and the work that had not yet been completed, she said Christopher told her the funds were gone.

Soon, Christopher stopped answering all questions. “He just went,” Newman said, according to WFAA. “He stopped talking to us. Never came back.”

Federal court records describe those actions as part of the couple’s “pattern of conduct,” saying they collected installment payments, failed to complete work, performed substandard construction and did not pay subcontractors.

Prosecutors allege that when the victims questioned the delays, Christopher made excuses through calls and text messages, assuring them that continued payments would keep the projects moving forward.

Instead, court records say the jurors spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on personal expenses, including $27,000 in mortgage payments, $82,000 in Amazon purchases and nearly $10,000 in plastic surgery.

Both Newman and Simmons appointed independent inspectors. At Simmons’ home, the contractor found several code violations, including unsafe framing. The front and back decks and interior stairs had to be torn out and rebuilt. “This is probably the worst job I’ve ever seen,” Lane was quoted as saying by the inspector. “My house – everything they’ve done is wrong.”

Newman spent $200K — in addition to the $200K she paid the judges — to complete and renovate the home, NBC-DFW reported. “In the end, they only got to roof and put a roof on the house,” she said.

After that she sold the house and lived with her parents.

Another victim, Jeremy Congleton, told NBC-DFW that he had to file for bankruptcy after judges threw out his project. His family of four spent 18 months in an RV while he finished building his own home.

“What he has to do with me and what we owe out of pocket and credit card debt, having to file bankruptcy, is about $250,000,” Congleton told the outlet.

All of the victims who spoke to NBC-DFW said they believe most of their money is gone for good, but the couple expressed relief that they will no longer be able to take on new clients.

And Lane hopes their story serves as a warning to others, WFAA reports — especially urging homeowners to watch for significantly lower bids from contractors as a warning sign.

“If someone is cheap, it’s for a reason,” he said.

Read the original article on People