A Fort Worth business owner who received nearly $5 million from local customers for unfinished custom home building and remodeling projects pled guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy charge on Dec. 30, 2025, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.
Court records reflect that Christopher Judge and his wife, Raquelle Judge, both of Fort Worth, Texas, were managing members of Judge DFW LLC, a Texas limited liability company. Each defendant admitted that from approximately August 2020 to January 2023, through Judge DFW, they conspired to defraud consumers by purporting to offer custom architecture, construction, and interior design/décor services that they never completed.
They also falsely represented that Christopher Judge was an architect. As part of the fraud scheme, victims received below-market bids from Judge DFW and executed design and build contracts for the work.
The defendants then started construction projects and accepted multiple installment payments from victims but never completed those projects, often leaving victims without a completed residence. 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.
Court records also show that the defendants commingled victims’ installment payments in the primary Judge DFW operating account, frequently using individual victim installment payments for unrelated construction projects.
The alleged loss amount totaled approximately $4.8 million.
Christopher Judge pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and faces up to twenty years in federal prison. Raquelle Judge pled 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.
They also face monetary penalties, restitution, and terms of supervised release. Sentencing for Raquelle Judge is scheduled for April 14, 2026. Sentencing for Christopher Judge is scheduled for May 12, 2026. Both sentencing hearings will occur before United States District Judge Terry R. Means.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Fort Worth Resident Agency and the Euless Police Department conducted the investigation, with the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark McDonald and Laura Montes prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Texas
Topics
Texas
Fraud
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