In what may or may not come as sad news to many, ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ star Apollo Nida was sentenced today (July 8) to 8 years in prison, plus five years of supervised release, or parole for his case regarding identify theft and fraud which he pleaded guilty to back in May.

He must also pay restitution, but that amount has not been determined yet. The court expects him to surrender himself into custody in four to six weeks. He was present for today’s sentencing.

Part of the reason he only got 8 years in prison is that he made a deal with federal investigators. According to TMZ:

The judge who sentenced him today in a Georgia court said Nida did indeed cooperate with federal investigators by spilling criminal secrets … and that’s why he got leniency.

As viewers of RHOA know, this will not be Apollo’s first stint in jail. He was released from state prison after serving six years for a car theft scheme. But he had begged the court to lower his maximum jail time for this fraud charges that could have sent him away for 30 years this time.

No word on if wife Phaedra Parks was at the sentencing. Season 7 of RHOA is set to begin taping in the coming weeks so we are sure viewers will get to see the emotional goodbye between the father of two and his family.

What do you think of Apollo’s sentencing?