I know that Teresa Giudice isn’t exactly America’s sweetheart following her fraud scandal, but this latest rumor seems downright mean.

That is, if the ugly accusation being hurled at the Real Housewives of New Jersey star turns out to be untrue.

With her sentencing quickly approaching (as it has been for some time now…), Giudice made a sweet gesture toward daughter Gia.

The RHONJ mom gave her oldest daughter a diamond ring. The ring as said to be an heirloom gift, as it once belonged to the child’s grandmother.

It was a touching on camera gesture.

But WAIT, not so fast!

RadarOnline is claiming that the mother-daughter moment was all for the cameras and that the ring in question is ANYTHING BUT a genuine heirloom gift.

REPORT @Teresa_Giudice's family heirloom diamond ring given to Gia was a gift from a jeweler http://t.co/J2GSOXJlnd pic.twitter.com/wA5PZ9gWHE

— Starcasm (@starcasm) August 19, 2014

The gossip site is claiming that a source notified it that the ring was in fact given to Teresa by a local jewelry store!

Showing the ring on camera was supposedly a means through which the company could get some free publicity.

“Teresa’s mother never had the ring for any extended period of time,” said the insider. “It was all done for the show, and it’s now back in Teresa’s possession.”

Who is watching RHONJ right now on @Bravotv ?

— Teresa Giudice (@Teresa_Giudice) August 18, 2014

To be fair, RadarOnline contradicted itself by communicating that Giudice is “begging friends for money” and then writing she is “raking in the dough”. Because of this, it’s possible that this simply isn’t true. Unfortunately, Giudice’s fraud scandal may lend it credibility.

After all, what’s one little ring compared a family knowingly spending millions of questionably acquired dollars? As such, it’s not too hard to form a cynical point of view about the situation.

What is known is that in 2014, everyone should take anything coming to us courtesy of “reality television” with a grain of salt. A number of American reality television shows are scripted and can be entirely fake.

The Real Housewives shows are no different, although they prove that truth is sometimes stranger and more entertaining than fiction.

Teresa and Joe Giudice saw their infamy explode following numerous fraud charges for which they pleaded guilty.

It’s expected that the pair will go to jail for a few years, and the possibility that Joe Giudice could be deported still remains.