March 14 (UPI) -- Joe Giudice was released from prison after serving nearly 36 months of a 41-month sentence.
TMZ reported Giudice left Allenwood Low Federal Correctional Institution in Allenwood, Pa., Thursday and was transferred into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
People confirmed Giudice was transferred directly to an immigration detention center. Entertainment Tonight said Giudice will remain in ICE custody until he receives a court date to appeal his deportation.
Giudice's attorney James Leonard, Jr., said Giudice and his family, wife Teresa Giudice and their four daughters, remain optimistic about the star's future.
"Mr. Giudice has finished serving his federal prison sentence and was transferred early this morning from the Bureau of Prisons to a facility in western Pennsylvania which houses immigration detainees," Leonard said.
"His lawyers and his family are hopeful that justice will prevail and Mr. Giudice will return home to his wife and four daughters who love him and miss him," he added.
Giudice entered prison in March 2016 after he and Teresa were sentenced to 41 and 15 months, respectively, in October 2014 for fraud. In October 2018, a judge ordered Giudice to return to his native Italy after his release from prison.
"It's heartbreaking. Very sad," Teresa said on Good Morning America in November.
"I have to stay strong. I have four beautiful daughters and they need their mommy," she added.
Giudice is known for appearing on the Bravo series The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which stars Teresa and five other women. The show completed its ninth season this month.
