Julie and Todd Chrisley receive sentences in a case of Bank Fraud and Tax Evasion

November 22, 2022November 22, 2022 Editor

Todd Chrisley received 12 years in prison and 16 months probation while his wife Julie Chrisley received seven years in prison, plus 16 months probation

In their case involving bank fraud and tax evasion, Todd and Julie Chrisley have received their sentences.

According to Insider and Fox 5 Atlanta, a federal judge sentenced the Chrisley Knows Best actors on Monday, giving Todd 12 years in jail and 16 months on probation and giving Julie seven years in prison and 16 months on probation.

Todd and Julie requested leniency prior to the sentence. According to Insider, Todd claimed in a statement that his wife, who looks after their son Grayson, 16, and granddaughter Chloe, 10, “should not be penalized” to the same degree.

Julie’s account of a conversation with Chloe, the daughter of their estranged son Kyle, brought tears to her eyes. To hear your 10-year-old declare she doesn’t want to live if their mom goes away, no child should feel that way,” per the outlet.

The Chrisley’s former accountant, Peter Tarantino, was also sentenced to 36 months in prison on Monday, per Insider. Tarantino — who was convicted in June for his involvement in the couple’s fraud scheme — is set to report to prison on May 1, 2023, after undergoing hip surgery, per the outlet.

According to a document acquired, the couple’s sentence was postponed from Oct. 6 until Nov. 21 after their attorney claimed a witness “lied” on the witness stand.

Federal prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Todd to between 17 and 22 years and Julie to between 10 and 13 years prior to the sentencing. According to court documents that WAGA was able to get, they are also requesting that the couple surrender close to $20 million.

In response to the prosecution’s request for a lighter sentence, Todd’s attorneys submitted a rejoinder. His mother and those who “are working in the production and filming of the Chrisley television series” will be affected “severely and badly” by his manifestation, they said, the site added.

Family and friends of the couple served as additional character witnesses in support of a reduced sentence.

According to court records obtained in August and filed in the Atlanta Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the two jointly moved for a new trial through their attorneys.

The IRS Revenue Officer Betty Carter, who lied about the Chrisleys owing taxes or years when she knew no taxes were owed, provided false testimony, which the government “presented and failed to correct,” according to the motion.

The request stated that “this testimony had the effect of inaccurately portraying the Chrisleys as dishonest, likely to engage in additional types of fraud, and dodging the tax payments claimed in the indictment.”

Todd, 53, and Julie, 49, were found guilty by a federal jury in June of conspiring to conduct bank fraud and conspiring to defraud the United States and tax fraud, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Julie was also convicted of wire fraud. (The pair have denied all the charges.)

According to Insider, Tarantino was also found guilty of conspiring to defraud the US and knowingly filing fake tax returns.

Todd and Julie were on trial for three weeks when Assistant US Attorney Annalise Peters alleged that they had lied about their financial situation to banks in order to borrow over $30 million, which they “burned” on their luxurious lifestyle and tax evasion.

According to Insider, Peters told the jury that “they make up documents and they lie through their teeth to obtain whatever they want, whenever they want it.”

Todd’s attorney, Bruce H. Morris, blamed the couple’s former employee, Mark Braddock, for impersonating Todd and committing the fraud behind the couple’s back, reportedly turning on them after he was fired in 2012. Despite Peters deeming Braddock a “fraudster,” she noted that the couple continued the act even after ties with him were cut.

In September, Todd revealed on his Chrisley Confessions podcast that he believed that the truth would eventually prevail.

“I know that the truth will eventually rise to the top and I know that we will have survived the lies because God has put that in my spirit,” he said. “I’m filled with the Holy Spirit. I know and I have peace that God is working overtime. Satan will never outwork God.”