If you’ve never seen Real Housewives of New Jersey, consider yourself fortunate. I’m not so lucky, having been introduced to this exercise in narcissism, banality and stupidity by a woman who lives in my home who shall not be named. But that’s my problem.

One of the stars of the Bravo “reality” series is Teresa Giudice, who also did a stint on Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice, when they were apparently unable to get anyone who was relatively interesting to appear. Why they have turned a woman whose most alluring virtues are her ill-tempered demeanor, poor grasp of language and low-class self-indulgence into a television personality is a mystery, but it reflects the current aspiration that anybody, no matter how devoid of talent, can be a celebrity these days.

The flip side of desperately seeking attention is that you actually get some attention, though from unwanted sources. For Giudice and her husband Joe, that attention came from the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

The Giudices were charged Monday in a 39-count indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements on loan applications and bankruptcy fraud, according to the indictment.

The fraud was allegedly committed between September 2001 and September 2008. During that time, Teresa and Joe, of Towaco, N.J., allegedly submitted fraudulent mortgage and loan applications. For example, in September 2001 she applied for a $121,500 mortgage loan by falsely claiming she was an executive assistant and submitted fake W-2 forms and fake paystubs.

Sadly, thought not surprisingly, this isn’t the first time they’ve been told to sit on the wrong side of the courtroom.

Teresa and Joe are also accused of hiding their assets during their 2009 bankruptcy petition. They filed for Chapter 7 in October 2009 and allegedly failed to disclose accurate information about their businesses, rental properties and Teresa’s “Real Housewives” salary.

In addition, Joe failed to file tax returns from 2004 through 2008, even though his income topped $990,000.

The hubris associated with not disclosing one’s television salary is pretty startling. So you appear on television, even a show as flaky and offensive as Real Housewives, yet think nobody notices you neglected to mention that salary? As prosecutors like to say, defendants are presumed innocent, not intelligent.

“The privilege of living well in the United States carries certain real responsibilities, including filing tax returns when required and paying the correct amount of tax,” said Shantelle P. Kitchen, special agent in charge of the IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Newark Field Office. “Today’s indictment alleges the Giudices did not live up to their responsibilities by failing to file tax returns, falsifying loan applications and concealing assets in their bankruptcy petition. The reality is that this type of criminal conduct will not go undetected and individuals who engage in this type of financial fraud should know they will be held accountable.”

Given the defendant’s profile, whether warranted or not, you can bet the decision to indict wasn’t made lightly, and the U.S. Attorney made very sure that the matter won’t end up embarrassing the office by a failure of proof. One would expect that this prosecution, as most high profile cases, includes a “send a message” component that leaves the government with no room for a screw-up. After all, if Teresa and Joe Giudice walk on a 39 count indictment, the message sent will be that the government is more of a screw-up than they are, and you can bet the government has no plan to let that happen.

Yet, Teresa’s ability to rationalize has yet to be impacted by this minor detail in her life as a television star. Following announcement of the indictment, Teresa went straight to the font of legal wisdom to offer her defense:

Teresa sent a statement to “Entertainment Online” regarding the charges.

“Today is a most difficult day for our family. I support Joe and, as a wonderful husband and father, I know he wants only the best for our lovely daughters and me,” she said. “I am committed to my family and intend to maintain our lives in the best way possible, which includes continuing my career. As a result, I am hopeful that we will resolve this matter with the Government as quickly as possible.”

Continue her career?  No need to give her the Third Degree. Not even the Reid Technique. Or read her Miranda Warnings. Put her in front of a camera and she’ll spill her guts all over the place. She may have the right to remain silent, but as anyone who has watched this show knows, she lacks the ability.

Regardless of whether you’re a fan of “Real Housewives” or, like me, not so much, it has now gone into territory that is has enormous potential to be instructive to a lot of people whose interest and concern about the law tends to be, how shall I say it, limited.  But one thing is sure, that this real housewife is about to learn the meaning of real in a federal courthouse, where the assistant handling her prosecution isn’t likely to ask for her autograph on anything other than a plea agreement.