Chrisley Knows Best stars Todd and Julie have been indicted on federal tax evasion, and could reportedly face up to 30 years in prison. The beloved reality TV couple was named in court documents filed on Tuesday, Aug. 13, along with their accountant. They face 12 charges in total, including bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and tax evasion.
Todd and Julie Chrisley are known for their good-natured, boisterous attitude on their family’s reality show. The family patriarch made a fortune in real estate, setting his family up for success. However, it now looks like he could be down-sizing to a federal prison cell. According to a report by the Daily Mail, the 51-year-old could serve as many as 30 years behind bars.
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Julie Chrisley has been implicated in the crimes as well. The 48-year-old was listed as a defendant, along with the family’s 56-year-old accountant, Peter Tarantino. Their indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern Georgia on Tuesday.
The Chrisleys are accused of tax evasion, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud conspiracy. Tarantino is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States, along with two counts of aiding the filing of a false tax return. Reporters noted that, according to federal guidelines, these counts could land them in jail for a total of three decades, if they are found guilty on all counts.
That will be determined by a federal grand jury in this case. The case against the Chrisleys seems to be based mostly on a emails that Todd Chrisley sent a business partner at Chrisley Asset Management, his real estate company. Chrisley became a multi-millionaire by managing and then selling foreclosed properties, but now prosecutors say he got into the business by tricking banks into believing he was already extremely wealthy.
The lawsuit identifies the recipient of Chrisley’s emails as “co-conspirator A,” and states that together, he and Chrisley “conspired to submit false materials, such as fabricated bank statements and false personal financial statements, to financial institutions to obtain millions of dollars in loans, much of which they used for their own personal benefit.”
In one example, Chrisley reportedly applied for a huge loan at one bank, claiming to have $4 million in another account at Merrill Lynch as collateral. The emails show a falsified bank statement in Todd and Julie Chrisley’s names, showing a balance of $776,509.52 in the Merill Lynch account.
“You are a f—ing genious (sic)!!!” Chrisley wrote in response. “Just make it show 4 mil+.”
Chrisley has publicly denied any wrongdoing in the case, in spite of the many pieces of evidence piling up. So far, the USA Network has not issued a comment.
