Todd and Julie Chrisley celebrated a rare legal victory on Wednesday after reaching a $1 million settlement with the state of Georgia.
Todd, 54, and Julie — who is receiving a visit from her children in prison for her 51st birthday — had sued former director of special investigations for Georgia’s Department of Revenue, Joshua Waites, in 2019.
They alleged in court documents that Waites “specifically” targeted them with a tax evasion investigation because of their public profile and reality TV fame.
“We have been saying for months that the criminal case against the Chrisleys was highly unusual and had real problems,” their attorney, Alex Little of Burr & Forman LLP, said in a statement to People. “This settlement is an encouraging sign.”
He added, “It is almost unprecedented for one branch of the government to pay money to defendants while another fights to keep them in jail.”
Todd and Julie Chrisley celebrated a rare legal victory Wednesday after reaching a $1 million settlement with the state of Georgia; seen in 2017
Todd, 54, and Julie, 51, sued former Georgia Department of Revenue director of special investigations Joshua Waites in 2019. The couple is currently serving federal prison sentences for bank fraud and tax evasion; still from Chrisley Knows Best
However, Little appears to be referring to different administrations, as the Chrisleys were acquitted of tax evasion charges by the state of Georgia, but were later convicted by a federal jury of multiple counts of bank fraud and tax evasion.
Todd was originally sentenced to twelve years in prison, while Julie was sentenced to seven years behind bars, but both sentences were subsequently shortened last September, and it appears they have been shortened again recently.
As long as nothing else changes, Todd can now expect to be released on September 23, 2032, while Julie will now leave prison on August 20, 2028, police said. Federal Bureau of Prisons‘ online prisoner search system.
Michael J. Bowers, the Chrisleys’ former attorney who filed their lawsuit in 2019, wrote that Waites’ charges against the couple were “a shocking example of how an out-of-control public official can abuse his office and undermine the rights of citizens can violate’. innocent citizens for reasons that have more to do with securing publicity and money for his office than with enforcing the law,” People said.
The lawsuit alleged that Waites “began to focus his efforts and desire” on the Chrisley Knows Best stars, while mainly mentioning both Todd and their daughter Lindsie, who is currently estranged from her parents.
Bowers and the Chrisleys claimed that Waites only targeted Lindsie to get her to share incriminating information about her parents.
That approach did not appear to be successful, and the lawsuit alleges that Waites then shared Todd and Julie’s confidential tax information with Lindsie.
“Ultimately, Waites’ efforts failed, but in the process the Chrisleys were forced to incur significant personal and financial hardship,” Bowers wrote in the documents.
The Chrisleys’ lawsuit alleged that Waites singled out the stars, and Todd and their estranged daughter Linsdie in particular. They claimed he sent Lindsie confidential tax information from Todd and Julie to get her to accuse them
“We have been saying for months that the criminal case against the Chrisleys was highly unusual and had real problems,” their lawyer said in a statement. ‘This settlement is an encouraging sign’; seen in 2019 in Nashville
After the settlement was announced, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Revenue said the “investigators are fair and impartial,” but they admitted that the lawsuit’s revelations were “disappointing,” according to Page Six; seen in 2018 in Los Angeles
Although Todd and Julie still spend years behind bars, even as the charges against Georgia fail and the state settlement is reached, the couple still has legal options to challenge their conviction.
In April, their appeal of their federal convictions will be heard by an appeals court in Atlanta.
After the settlement with the Chrisleys, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Revenue said in a statement that the “investigators are fair and impartial.”
However, they admitted that the revelations from the Chrisleys’ lawsuit were “disappointing.” Page six.