Todd and Julie Chrisley have doubled down on their allegations that an IRS agent “lied” to convict them of tax fraud crimes – while also filing a final appeal against their imprisonment, which they plan to take to the Supreme Court.
The two are now after their deaths, according to a source close to the disgraced former reality stars, who are currently serving a combined 19-year sentence after being found guilty of a $30 million tax scam “at the lowest point they’ve ever reached.” The latest request for house arrest was denied.
Speaking to , the family insider said Todd, 54, and Julie, 50, “feel completely hopeless about their situation” and are terrified at the thought of losing their last appeal because it means “at least one more.” year will mean”. They live in their hell prisons.
However, the couple hasn’t given up all hope – their newly hired attorney, Jay Surgent, told the pair are fully prepared to take their case to the Supreme Court if their latest appeal is denied , while they are railed against the government’s decision to refuse their request for house arrest, accusing them of being forced to live in “misery”.
Surgent insists his clients’ 8th Amendment rights were “clearly violated” during the appeals process, stressing that the Chrisleys’ request for house arrest “was not even processed” and alleging that it was a “cruel and unusual.” This is due to their unfavorable prison conditions, which they say include lack of air conditioning, mold and problems with sanitation.
Todd Chrisley, 54, and his wife Julie, 50, are “the worst they’ve ever been” after their request for house arrest was denied despite claims they were being forced to live in “misery”.
In their latest brief, presented to the Court of Appeals on July 26, the Chrisleys said they should allow their appeal, which was based in part on the alleged “lies” of IRS agent Betty Carter.
On July 16, the government released its final brief, which said Todd and Julie “acted intentionally” and “were aware of their tax liabilities.”
“Todd and Julie Chrisley will take the matter to the Supreme Court if their appeal is denied by the 11th Circuit Court.” Absolutely. “100 percent,” Attorney Surgent — a renowned white collar crime attorney — tells .
“We will proceed with any appeals.”
“We submitted our reply letter on July 26. We are waiting for them to present the case for a hearing.” “We hope that, based on our arguments, we will obtain either a quashing of the case for a new trial or a remittance to the district court.”
On July 16, the federal government filed its response to Todd and Julie’s appeal. The 95-page document says from the United States: “An oral hearing is unnecessary in this case.”
“The concerns and positions of the parties set out in the files and briefs are sufficient to enable the court to make a fair decision,” the government statement said.
Attorney Surgent disagrees and wants his clients granted a new trial based on several alleged missteps, including the alleged “lies” of an IRS agent, the false $17 million recovery amount and issues surrounding their conviction for tax evasion.
“If they deny our request for a hearing and we lose the appeal, we will appeal to the Supreme Court,” says Attorney Surgent — acknowledging that it is “quite difficult” to bring a Supreme Court case to listen to
As a matter of fact. According to UScourts.gov, federal appeals courts routinely handle more than 50,000 cases each year. Ten percent or less of those decisions will be appealed to the Supreme Court.’
Making the odds even lower is that the Supreme Court only hears 100 cases a year. Therefore, most appellate court decisions are final and binding on the lower courts of the same judicial district,” the government-run website said.
Attorney Surgent tells , “If the Supreme Court dismisses their appeal, that’s done.” They have run out of options. Unfortunately, this is how our legal system works.
“But if the Supreme Court agrees to hear her case, it will take anywhere from six to 18 months.” Again, getting a case is very difficult.”
A lawyer for the Chrisleys (seen here after their November 2022 conviction) told : “We hope for an overturn for a new trial or a referral back to district court.”
Surgent claims the system is currently working against his clients and believes their request for house arrest “should at least have been processed”.
“It wasn’t even addressed because an independent administrator decided it was a waste of time.” “It’s not just about the air conditioning, the plumbing, or the mold,” he said.
“By subjecting the Chrisleys to such terms is a violation of their Eighth Amendment right.” If the Chrisleys were allowed house arrest, they would have an opportunity to seek redress and the banks could be restored. They can’t do that in prison.”
has reached out to Todd and Julie’s representatives, who have not yet responded. The US Department of Justice told that there was “no comment”.
Todd and Julie’s legal troubles began in 2019, when the former reality star couple – who rose to fame when their hit show Chrisley Knows Best first aired in 2014 – faced multiple charges related to allegedly failing to pay Tax on income earned between 2008 and 2008 was charged in 2019.
They were convicted in June 2022 of bank fraud, tax evasion and filing false documents with banks, among other things. They were accused of taking out more than $30 million in fraudulent loans.
In November 2022, Todd was sentenced to 12 years in Florida prison and Julie to seven years in prison, which she is serving in Kentucky. They began their sentences in January 2023.
A month before their long prison sentences began, they appealed their convictions, believing they had been wrongly convicted by the 10-person jury that delivered their verdict.
Todd is currently serving 12 years in federal prison camp in Pensacola, Florida (pictured)
Meanwhile, Julie is serving a seven-year sentence at Federal Prison Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky (pictured).
Todd and Julie based their appeal largely on allegations that IRS agent Betty Carter lied and accused prosecutors of forcing them to do so.
Attorney Surgent tells : “We are seeking a hearing on the application, which was denied due to false testimony by the IRS officer.”
The latest brief, filed by the U.S. federal government two weeks before the Chrisleys’ letter of reply, states: “As set forth in more than 100 pages of legal arguments and affidavits, the Chrisleys have filed an apparently valid Giglio Complaint.”
Under US law, information or material from Giglio refers to material intended to challenge the character or testimony of a prosecution witness in a criminal proceeding.
“Specifically, that prosecutors knowingly produced false testimony from IRS tax officer Betty Carter, who for years lied that the Chrisleys owed taxes when she knew no taxes were due, and that this lie was for everyone in court.” Counts of impeachment was essential,” the federal government briefed claims.
On Jan. 18 — the same day Todd and Julie began their sentences — the district court issued a 78-page order that said there was “no evidence that the witness lied or that the government denied the witness encouraged lying”.
Another alleged misstep on which the Chrisleys base their appeal is that prosecutors concluded that Todd and Julie committed tax evasion.
The Chrisleys want their tax evasion conviction overturned, claiming that Todd should not have been charged with tax evasion because he failed to pay taxes on money his entire family earned and put into a separate account. .
Todd told the courts that her USA Network payments for her then-hilarious reality show were deposited into a loan company account called 7C.
Attorney Jay Surgent says Todd and Julie (seen here arguing on their show Chrisley Knows Best) are ready to take their case to the Supreme Court if their appeal is denied
The Chrisleys’ appeal documents state: “Here the government based its convictions of tax evasion and conspiracy on allegations that money was paid.” [Todd’s] Services were his income.
However, all of the money referred to in the lawsuit was income generated by 7C in its capacity as lender lending the services of the entire Chrisley family.
To close this loop, the government argues that the mere creation and operation of 7Cs was an affirmative act of tax evasion.
But it wasn’t just the “mere creation and operation of 7C” that the federal government used to condemn the duo.
Her conviction was based on the fact that the Chrisleys network paychecks changed hands multiple times to conceal the funds while they were under investigation by the IRS.
The government letter states: “On March 6, 2017, an IRS tax officer requested records of all bank accounts controlled by Todd or Julie to determine whether Todd was using accounts on Julie’s behalf.”
The next day, March 7th, Julie transferred ownership of the 7C company account to Todd’s mother and opened a new 7C company account in Todd’s mother’s name. In an email sent that day, Todd incorrectly told his talent agent that their 7C’s Bank of America account had been compromised and that he should not transfer any funds into that account until a new account was opened.
“Thereafter, the Chrisleys’ income was transferred to the new accounts opened in Todd’s mother’s name and to a private account in Todd’s mother’s name.”
However, when Todd’s mother, Faye, aka Nanny Faye, was called to the witness stand to speak about the situation, she testified that she had nothing to do with 7C.
The federal government’s appeal document further states, “Indeed, the Chrisleys arranged for the grand jury to be presented with a false document, namely a document that falsely purported to transfer ownership of 7Cs from Todd’s mother back to Julie.” But the Bank of America had no record of it.’
The Chrisleys were also convicted of bank fraud after the government produced several forged documents.
Todd and Julie filmed their hit US TV show, Chrisley Knows Best, in their $6 million Georgia mansion (they saw it), which will likely be used to pay off their $17 million in restitution
Red Corvette: Everyone needs one except Todd (seen here being berated by wife Julie and his father in the final season). He bought the $250,000 car while the investigation was ongoing
One of these documents was created by Julie before the family rose to fame when Todd was in real estate.
Mark Braddock — Todd’s former business partner, who said on the witness stand that he and Todd had a gay romance in the early 2000s that was hidden from their spouses — was granted immunity in exchange for his explosive testimony, which nailed the Chrisleys’ coffin.
In his lengthy testimony, coupled with email exchanges and documentation, he told the courts that Julie was deeply implicated in the crimes he and Todd knowingly committed.
Mark pointed to multiple instances where the Chrisleys had filed false documents and that they “obtained tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent loans by essentially filing false documents with banks.”
His testimony also revealed that “Julie Chrisley was involved in a wire fraud by providing forged documents to a California real estate owner when she applied for a lease on a home.”
In an email exchange between Todd and Mark, Todd repeatedly directed Mark to send false documents to banks, which the federal government included in its appeal.
“Once when Braddock emailed a fake bank statement that was supposed to be mailed to a bank, Todd replied via email, ‘You’re a bloody genius, just put $4 million or more on it.'”
The Chrisleys’ attorney also appealed the amount of restitution, which the court set at $17 million.
“Here’s our problem.” The government says $17 million, but that’s not true. The jury was never told that those taxes were unpaid. “There was no evidence from the banks themselves,” attorney Surgent told .
In its response letter, the government indicated that it “used detailed FDIC records” to determine the amount owed.
“After several hours of testimony and submission of detailed FDIC records, the district court ordered a refund and foreclosure order of $17,270,741.57 each,” the U.S. filing said.
The Chrisleys’ council said in its final reply: “The only additional evidence the Government is adducing to hold Julie responsible for a loss of more than $17 million is Braddock’s testimony of conversations he had with Julie about scrapbooking led.”
Their brief went on to say that they would like “a new sentencing hearing to enable the court to calculate the appropriate guidance, including an individual determination of the amount of damages properly attributable to Julie.”
In summary, the United States government states that the Chrisleys were well aware that what they were doing was illegal.
“The Chrisleys acted premeditated. “They knew of their tax debts and unpaid taxes because they were repeatedly briefed by the IRS on their tax problems throughout the conspiracy,” the federal government’s appeal reads.
“Although his taxes weren’t paid, in a February 2017 radio interview, Todd bragged that he paid $750,000 to $1,000,000 annually to the IRS, which was false, which was further evidence that he knew that.” he had a legal obligation to comply with tax laws.’
As fans of the fallen family know, Todd has never been shy about his bounty purchases. For many years, Chrisley Knows Best has served as a platform to brag about her boisterous lifestyle.
On a 2013 episode of the now-defunct USA Network show, Todd said, “A year from now we’re probably spending $300,000 a year, probably more, on clothes.” “I endorse every piece of clothing our kids wear. “
Todd and Julie are parents to daughter Savannah, 25, son Chase, 27, and Grayson, 16, while Todd also shares daughter Lindsie, 33, and son Kyle, 31, with his ex-wife Teresa Terry.
In 2016, Todd and Julie gained custody of Chloe, their son Kyle’s 10-year-old daughter, who is now in Savannah’s care.