On last night’s episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta</a>, Sheree Whitfield</a> gushed that her prison boyfriend, Tyrone Gilliams, would likely be released later this year — and shared their plans to wed as soon as possible.<br /><br />However, Whitfield’s dreams for Gilliams’ soon-to-be freedom have been shattered, as the inmate’s latest attempt at an early release has been shut down by New York federal court.<br /><br />Gilliams, 51, was sentenced to 120 months in 2013 on securities fraud and wire fraud charges in an elaborate white-collar scheme to swindle investors of $5 million.<br /><br />After a 2016 attempt to challenge the legality of his sentence was shut down, Gilliams filed a motion for reconsideration in January of this year.<br /><br />According to the documents obtained, Gilliams claimed he wasn’t actually a “leader” in his scheme, the government “improperly withheld” evidence, and his counsel was “ineffective.”<br /><br />He also begged the court to release him on bail “during the pendency of federal habeas corpus proceedings.”<br /><br />But U.S. District Judge Deborah A. Batts shut down his latest arguments in a March 20 filing, claiming he offered no new evidence.<br /><br />Gilliams is slated to be released on November 14, 2022 — meaning he still has over four years behind bars ahead of him.<br /><br />He is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Yazoo City, Mississippi, more than a six-hour drive from Whitfield’s native Atlanta.<br /><br />The 48-year-old mother of three’s family, costars and friends have been critical of her loyalty to the felon, but she still insists the couple is meant to be together.
