Todd & Julie Chrisley, A Reality TV Couple Sentenced to Prison in A Case Of $30 Million Bank Fraud and Tax Evasion

The reality TV show ‘Chrisley Knows best’ couple Todd and Julia Chrisley have been sentenced to prison for their $30 million fraud and tax evasion.

On Tuesday, PEOPLE reported, “Todd Chrisley received 12 years in prison and 16 months probation while wife Julie Chrisley received seven years in prison, plus 16 months probation,”.

The pair is popularly knowns for their long-running reality TV series, Chrisley Knows Best which only showed their so-called wealthy southern lifestyle luxuries and many more things.

Todd and Julie Chrisley

According to a few reports, the show and its spin-offs have been canceled due to scandal but as per Page Six,

There has been no official word from NBCUniversal on the cancellation.”

The star couple was found guilty of fraud and tax evasion in June, and then five months later jury’s verdict came.

A few reports show, “Prosecutors said they took out $30 million in fraudulent bank loans. The couple used the money to fund their lifestyle, even before they had become reality stars. Todd and Julia also used a production company to hide income from the IRS, lawyers argued.”

The accountant of the convicted couple named Peter Tarantino was also sentenced to three years behind the bars for doing fraud on his client’s behalf.

Todd & Julie Chrisley Fraud with Bank

According to the insider, “During the emotional sentencing hearing on Monday, Assistant US Attorney Annalise Peters showed footage of the Chrisleys bragging about spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on clothes, from their 30,000-square-foot home, while avoiding taxes and in the middle of bankruptcy,”.

At the beginning of this year, when the trial was going on the celebrity couple was not only submitted false document in court but also made their friends and family agreed to lie during terrifying under oath in court hearings.

It was written by the prosecutors that, “The Chrisleys are unique given the varied and wide-ranging scope of their fraudulent conduct and the extent to which they engaged in fraud and obstructive behavior for a prolonged period of time,”.

No doubt the trial has been very interesting and dramatic from the start because of Todd’s former employee, Mark Braddock’s testimony in court. ‘Employee turned in to lover’, Everyone was in great shock when they found out that in the early 2000s, Todd, 53 had a long-term affair with his employee.

According to Daily Mail, “They were involved with each other while they were both married to their respective wives.

they were both married

“Braddock sensationally turned against his ex-lover and business partner on the stand when he told the jury that he had not only been witness to the Chrisleys’ crimes but had helped to commit them.”

The tabloid further said,“His testimony also saw him confessing not only to his role in the Chrisleys’ years

-long fraud but to his infidelity, which he is said to have kept hidden from his wife for years before revealing it all to the world on the stand. Braddock was granted immunity in return for testifying.”

As per PEOPLE, because the attorneys found out that one witness lied on the stand that’s why the decision of their sentence got delayed from October 6 to November 21.

Chrisleys

Variety reported that Todd’s defense lawyer, Bruce Morris sought a reduced sentence to the jury by maintaining that the errant taxes have since been paid. While arguing his attorney claimed that a lot of people including those employees who are involved in their reality TV show ‘Chrisley Knows Best’ depends on the couple for their income.

“The scores of people who are employed in the production and filming of the Chrisley television shows will be harmed when he is incarcerated,” wrote Morris.

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Sources: PEOPLE – Daily Mail – Page Six – Insider – Variety

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