‘The Family Chantel’ Star Pedro Jimeno’s Boss Laura Delgado Was Once Convicted of Tax Return Scam

An interesting backstory. The Family Chantel star Pedro Jimeno’s real estate boss, Laura Delgado, was once convicted of a tax return scam, In Touch can confirm. 

According to documents obtained by In Touch from the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons, Delgado was sentenced to 51 months in prison for filing $3.6 million in false tax returns in October 2014. Delgado was also ordered to pay more than $2.1 million in restitution to the government. 

Delgado operated a business in Norcross, Georgia, called Servicios Hispanicos, which offered various legal and financial services. Between January 2013 and May 2014, Delgado filed approximately 1,300 federal income tax returns and claimed more than $3.6 million in federal funds, according to the US. Attorney’s office. 

“The sole objective of Ms. Delgado’s scheme was to unjustly enrich herself at the expense of the IRS,” stated Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot special agent in charge from the IRS Criminal Investigation division. “We will continue to pursue individuals like Delgado, who abuse positions of trust to commit crimes and ruin the lives of innocent citizens by misusing their identities.”

The U.S. Attorney’s office also stated that many of the fraudulent claims were for individuals who were not documented to work in the United States. Delgado reportedly submitted false and misleading W-2 statements and also notarized and filed fraudulent Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs) applications. 

Following her sentencing, the TLC alum served her time at FCI Tallahassee, a detention center in Florida, before being released on supervision in February 2017. 

Delgado currently runs LD Realty Group, the office that employs Pedro. His involvement with his coworkers was a major point of contention in his separation and eventual divorce from his wife Chantel Jimeno (née Everett).

Chantel admitted she was jealous of him choosing to spend time with his coworkers over her. “It makes me feel jealous of the time that he spends with them, that he’s having so much fun with other people and he’s not having fun with me,” she confessed in a July 2022 confessional. “But I’m gonna fight for my relationship and I’m gonna fight for my marriage. I hope that by me fighting, he’ll see my efforts and he’ll realize that I love him and I’m here for better or for worse.”

However, after Chantel crashed a happy hour with his coworkers, it might’ve done more damage than good. 

“I think Chantel just wanted to come and I guess, see what Pedro was up to,” Laura said later that episode. “When she walked in, I could definitely feel the tension because of the way he was looking at her like, ‘What are you doing here?’ type of thing instead of saying, ‘Hey, you’re here, that’s great, come and join,’ maybe.”

In Touch previously confirmed that Pedro filed for divorce from Chantel on May 27, after six years of marriage. At the time of his filing, the former couple were issued mutual restraining orders which barred them “from doing or attempting to do, or threatening to do, any act that injures, maltreats, vilifies, intimidates, molests or harasses the adverse party.”

Six weeks later, Chantel filed her own counterclaim on July 7, where she accused her estranged husband of “adultery” and “cruel treatment.”