Todd and Julie Chrisley, a reality TV couple found guilty of bank fraud and tax evasion, have been pardoned by President Donald Trump. Be well aware of their sentencing and family.
Todd and Julie Chrisley, a convicted reality TV couple, have been pardoned by Donald Trump.
Donald Trump has already pardoned several well-known people since taking office again, and now he has added reality TV personalities Todd and Julie Chrisley to the list. The Republican leader announced on Tuesday that he would pardon the pair, who have been incarcerated since being found guilty of bank fraud and tax evasion.
In 2022, the Chrisley pair was sentenced; Julie received seven years and Todd received twelve. In January 2023, they finally reported to prison. According to a White House insider, Trump knows their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, even though he hasn’t met them. She also appeared on Fox News earlier this month for an interview with Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, in addition to speaking at the Republican National Convention last year.
Pardon Todd and Julie Chrisley: Trump informed their daughter of the situation.
Since then, their 27-year-old daughter has been pleading for her parents to be forgiven. She disclosed this week that she had previously seen Trump and that the president had called her as she was entering Sam’s Club. In a Tuesday, May 27 (US time) Instagram video, she claimed that the POTUS informed her that he had granted the Chrisleys a pardon.
On Instagram, she wrote, “I have cried a lot.” The President personally called as I was walking into Sam’s Club to let me know that he was signing the paperwork for my parents’ pardons. Either today or tomorrow, my parents will return home. I still don’t think it’s real. I’m losing my mind.
Overcome with emotion, Savannah continued, “I just can’t thank you guys enough for sticking with my family and loving us and supporting us…” after declaring that it was “time to go get mum and dad.” It still feels unreal. It doesn’t. I’m going to go get ready to pick up my folks because I’m stressing out. My parents are given a fresh start in life!”
The pardon documents for the reality TV couple will be prepared by the end of the day on May 28 in the United States, a White House official told E! News.
Who are Julie and Todd Chrisley? Their family and relationships on reality shows
The couple, who have been married since 1996, gained notoriety as the stars of Chrisley Knows Best, a television program that ran for ten seasons from 2014 to 2023. In addition to chronicling their family businesses in Atlanta and Nashville, the USA Network reality show examined their lavish lifestyles. It also detailed their complicated family relationships, such as their distance from their oldest children, Lindsie and Kyle Chrisley, whom Todd and his first wife, Teresa Terry, welcomed into the world.
Their adult children, Chase and Savannah Chrisley, are the focus of a spin-off reality show. It debuted in 2019 and ran for four seasons. These two, along with his 19-year-old son Grayson, are shared by Todd Chrisley and his present spouse, Julie Chrisley.
Savannah, who was 25 at the time, volunteered to be the only carer for their younger children, Grayson and Chloe. The latter 12-year-old is actually the daughter of Todd’s son Kyle, despite the complexity of their family tree. Before Savannah took over, she had been in the custody of the reality couple.
Regarding the case of Todd and Julie Chrisley
The Justice Department claims that the reality TV stars falsified their financial records in order to secure more than $30 million in personal loans, which they planned to utilise to pay for their expensive automobiles, fancy clothing, vacations, and real estate.
Additionally, according to CBC News, these loans that were obtained fraudulently were also used to settle previous debts. But in the end, Todd Chrisley declared bankruptcy, which the prosecution said was a ruse to avoid making their payback.
The Chrisleys tried to avoid paying nearly $500,000 in overdue taxes by hiding their actual income from the IRS, even though their reality program brought in millions of dollars. They even neglected to pay taxes and file tax returns between 2013 and 2016.
“Their lengthy sentences reflect the magnitude of their criminal scheme and should serve as a warning to others tempted to exploit our nation’s community banking system for unlawful personal gain,” a Justice Department lawyer stated at the time of their prison sentence announcement.
Todd Chrisley-Charges and imprisonment for Julie Chrisley
In addition to the accusations against the pair, 52-year-old Julie Chrisley was found guilty of wire fraud and obstruction justice. The reality TV pair was even mandated to make reparations of $17.8 million.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons stated that Todd’s initial release date was June 2023. He has been incarcerated at a federal minimum security camp for the duration of his sentence. Julie, his wife, has been in a facility in Lexington, Kentucky, in the meantime. At first, she was scheduled to leave in April 2028.
Jay Surgent, Chrisley’s attorney, informed The Independent in October 2024 that Todd had been let go from his jail employment. He stated, without going into much detail, that Chrisley served as the Chaplain’s assistant in an administrative capacity. “The setup for religious procedures for various religious affiliations that are Christian, Jewish, and Muslim” is what he would assist with. It is thought that his interactions with different prisoners who participated in the prison’s Residental Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) caused him to lose his employment after two years.
An attorney affirms their support for Trump and explains why they were singled out.
Julie and Todd have also been known to support Trump for a long time. According to his attorney, a MAGA sticker from the former’s cell—which the guards at FPC Pensacola removed—was found to be evidence of the same.
“President Trump recognised what we’ve argued from the beginning: Todd and Julie were targeted because of their conservative values and high profile,” said Alex Little, another lawyer for the couple, in a statement to USA Today. The prosecution of the pair was “tainted by multiple constitutional violations and political bias,” he even went so far as to say.
“The Chrisleys’ pardon petition detailed serious misconduct by the government, including an illegal raid, reliance on tainted evidence, and a trial that featured false testimony from a key government witness,” according to a press release issued by his legal firm.
