ATLANTA– Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who are in prison after being convicted on federal charges of bank fraud and tax evasion, are challenging aspects of their convictions and sentences before a federal appeals court.
The Chrisleys rose to fame with their show ‘Chrisley Knows Best’, which chronicled the exploits of their close-knit family. But prosecutors said they were involved in an elaborate bank fraud scheme and hid their income from tax authorities while showcasing their extravagant lifestyles.
Peter Tarantino, an accountant they hired, is also serving a prison sentence. He wants his conviction overturned and him given a new trial.
Attorneys for all three, as well as federal prosecutors, are scheduled to appear for arguments Friday before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
The Chrisleys were initially charged in August 2019. In June 2022, a jury found them guilty of conspiring to defraud community banks of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans. They were also found guilty of tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the IRS, and Julie Chrisley was convicted of wire fraud and obstruction of justice.
Todd Chrisley, 56, is housed in a minimum security federal prison camp in Pensacola, Florida, with a release date of October 2032, while Julie Chrisley, 51, is in a facility in Lexington, Kentucky, with a release date of July 2028. That reports the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
Tarantino, 61, was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States and intentionally filing false tax returns. He is being held at a minimum security federal prison camp in Montgomery, Alabama, with a release date of next September.
Prosecutors have said the Chrisleys submitted false documents to banks and managed to obtain more than $30 million in fraudulent loans. Once that plan failed, they avoided their responsibility to pay back the loans when Todd Chrisley went bankrupt. While bankrupt, they started their reality show and “flaunted their wealth and lifestyle to the American public,” then hid the millions they made from the show from the IRS, prosecutors said.
Attorneys for the Chrisleys allege that an IRS officer lied on the witness stand about the couple owing taxes for years even though she knew no taxes were owed, and that prosecutors knowingly presented that false testimony and failed to have succeeded in correcting this.
They also allege that the judge improperly admitted certain evidence without requiring prosecutors to prove that it was not obtained during an unlawful search. And they say prosecutors have failed to provide enough evidence to convict the Chrisleys of tax evasion and conspiracy, showing only that they used a common entertainment industry practice to receive acting income.
They also claim that prosecutors have not presented any evidence that Julie Chrisley participated in bank fraud. They say the judge made a mistake by ordering the return and forfeiture of assets.
Todd Chrisley should be acquitted on tax evasion and conspiracy charges and given a new trial on the remaining charges, his lawyers argue. Alternatively, the appeals court should send the case back to the trial court to hold a hearing on its claims that the IRS official lied and that evidence was improperly admitted.
Julie Chrisley should be acquitted of five bank fraud charges, her lawyers argue. They also say her sentence on the remaining charges, including $17.2 million in restitution she and her husband were ordered to pay, should be wiped out and she should be resentenced on those counts.
Prosecutors contend that there was sufficient evidence at trial to support the indictment and the jury’s verdicts, and that the evidence was properly obtained and admitted. They said the judge was right to deny an evidentiary hearing or a new trial based on the Chrisleys’ claims that the IRS agent had lied, saying the agent testified to the best of her recollection.
An attorney for Tarantino argued in a filing with the appeals court that his client had suffered harm from being tried with the Chrisleys, and he urged the court to overturn Tarantino’s conviction and set his case for a new trial to be returned to the lower court.
Although Tarantino did certain things that ultimately facilitated the Chrisleys’ fraudulent behavior, there was no evidence that he intentionally did anything to facilitate that behavior. Jurors became confused and biased, leading them to convict all three defendants of all charges they faced, his attorney wrote.
Prosecutors say there is substantial evidence showing Tarantino’s personal involvement, but he cannot provide factual, convincing evidence that he suffered harm from being tried alongside the Chrisleys.