Fort Worth Social Media Influencers Sentenced in $4.2 Million Custom Home Fraud Scheme
FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth couple known for their social media presence has been sentenced to federal prison for operating a construction business that prosecutors say defrauded more than 40 victims out of millions of dollars.
Christopher Judge, 35, and Raquelle Judge, 36, co-owners and managing members of Judge DFW LLC, pleaded guilty in December 2025 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means sentenced Christopher Judge on Sept. 1 to 78 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release. Raquelle Judge was sentenced to one month in prison.
Both were ordered to pay $2,794,680.73 in restitution.
According to court documents, the couple used Judge DFW to market custom architecture, construction and interior design services to customers across North Texas.
From approximately August 2020 through January 2023, prosecutors said the Judges offered below-market bids to persuade customers in six counties to sign design-and-build contracts for custom homes.
Customers made installment payments as their projects progressed, but prosecutors said the couple failed to complete most of the work and, in some cases, abandoned construction sites entirely.
The Judges also admitted falsely representing that Christopher Judge was a licensed architect.
Court records show more than 40 people were defrauded through at least 24 construction projects. Prosecutors estimated the total losses at approximately $4.2 million.
The couple commingled customers' installment payments in Judge DFW's primary operating account, according to court documents. Money paid by one customer was frequently used for unrelated construction projects.
"The Judges didn't just abandon construction sites; their entire business model was built on lies and deceit," U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said.
The FBI's Fort Worth Resident Agency and Euless Police Department investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark McDonald and Laura Montes prosecuted the case.
