Todd and Julie Chrisley, stars of the long-running cable TV series "Chrisley Knows Best," received prison sentences of 12 years and seven years, respectively, on tax evasion and bank fraud charges.
A jury in Atlanta convicted the couple in June on the charges (
Prosecutors said the Chrisleys spent the money on luxury cars, designer clothes, real estate and travel, while taking out new fraudulent loans to pay off the old ones. After spending all the money, Todd Chrisley filed for bankruptcy and walked away from over $20 million in loans.
Later, while earning millions from their TV show, the couple, along with their accountant, Peter Tarantino, were accused of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service through use of a loan-out company, according to the Justice Department. To evade collection of half a million dollars in overdue taxes owed by Todd Chrisley, the Chrisleys opened and kept the corporate bank accounts only in Julie Chrisley's name. But after the IRS requested information about bank accounts in Julie Chrisley's name, the Chrisleys transferred ownership of the corporate bank account to a relative to hide their income from the IRS.
The Chrisleys' TV series, "Chrisley Knows Best," ran for nine seasons starting in 2014 on the USA Network.
The Chrisleys didn't file tax returns or pay any taxes for tax years 2013, 2014, 2015 or 2016. The Chrisleys were also accused of obstructing justice before they were charged as well as during the trial. After learning of the grand jury investigation and receiving a subpoena, Julie Chrisley submitted a document that made it appear the couple hadn't lied to the bank when they transferred ownership of the loan-out company's bank account to their relative.
A jury convicted the Chrisleys in June on all counts of a superseding indictment, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit tax evasion. The jury also convicted Julie Chrisley on a charge of obstruction of justice. Tarantino was convicted of filing two false corporate tax returns for the loan-out company claiming the business earned no money and made no distributions in 2015 and 2016.
U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross sentenced Todd Chrisley, 54, to 12 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Julie Chrisley, 49, was sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Tarantino, 60, was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. As part of sentencing, the court ordered the Chrisleys to pay restitution and plans to determine the amount in the future.
