Christopher and Raquelle Judge have pleaded guilty to conning dozens of clients out of nearly $5 million in a home-building scheme.
Federal prosecutors alleged in a December 31, 2025, press release that the Texas couple “conspired to defraud consumers by purporting to offer custom architecture, construction and interior design/décor services that they never completed” between August 2020 and January 2023.
The content creators also falsely represented that Christopher was an architect, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.
“Plea documents reflect that the defendants defrauded over 40 victims residing in six Northern District of Texas counties, involving at least 24 different construction projects,” the press release read. “The alleged loss amount totaled approximately $4.8 million.”
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Raquelle pleaded guilty on December 17, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud that subjects her to a maximum of five years in federal prison.
As for Christopher, he pleaded guilty on December 30, 2025, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Sentencing for Raquelle is scheduled for April 14, while Christopher will hear his punishment on May 12. Both are also expected to face monetary penalties, restitution and terms of supervised release.
Some Texas homeowners spoke out about their experiences working with the Judges after they pleaded guilty in a Texas courtroom.
Chris and Raquelle Judge Courtesy of Chris and Raquelle Judge / Instagram“Raquelle did a lot of the talking. Chris was introduced as the architect and builder,” Kristin Newman told WFAA in an interview published January 2. “It started out great. I had no problems.”
As construction continued, however, Newman said she started to become concerned.
“We started questioning some things. ‘Hey, why isn’t this done?’” she recalled. “Then it got to, ‘Hey, I think you’re overcharging for this.’ At one point, I overpaid for something. I said, ‘Hey, can I have that money back? Because you haven’t done it and that’s part of this other draw.’ And he said, ‘I don’t have it anymore.’”
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At one point, Newman claimed Chris “just stopped talking to us, never came back.”
Lane Simmons and his wife also shared their experience in a separate interview with the local news station.
“They came out to our house … and really pitched themselves as like this Chip and Joanna Gaines type of vibe,” Simmons claimed. “My house — everything that they did is wrong. Within weeks, my tile is cracking. My floors are cracking. My kitchen floor is sinking in. The exterior trim looks like a child did it. All the framing, we had to re-tear out and rebuild. My staircase had to be re-torn out and rebuilt. It was only held up by one piece of board on the inside. Just code violation after code violation.”
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The Judges’ last Instagram post is from May 2021, when they documented a trip to Panama City Beach, Florida. “What’s y’all’s favorite beach to visit?!” the couple asked via social media at the time. “Really needing some sunshine! ☀️☀️☀️.”
As for their YouTube page, the Judges once shared a video in September 2020 explaining the benefits of new construction.
“You get to move in knowing you don’t have to make any repairs,” Christopher shared while giving a house tour. “Thank you guys for following along with us today. Be sure to reach out to us when you’re ready to start your new build.”
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