Reality star Apollo Nida sentenced to 8years in prison for bank fraud, ID theft

Real Housewives of Atlanta star Apollo Nida has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for cashing stolen checks, laundering more than $2.3 million through phony bank accounts and ID theft.

TMZ reports;

Apollo Nida just got an enormous break for singing like a canary ... he got 1/4 the maximum sentence for a massive money fraud scheme.

Nida, who appears on "Real Housewives of Atlanta" with wife Phaedra Parks -- was just sentenced to 8 years in federal prison for cashing stolen checks and laundering more than $2.3 million through phony bank accounts.

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.  

Nida could have been sentenced to 30 years, so 8 years is a big victory. 

His wife Phaedra is said not to be involved in the four-year scheme which he pled guilty to