Reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley sentenced to combined 19 years in prison for bank fraud, tax evasion

Julie and Todd Chrisley appear on Chrisley Knows Best in Aug. 2020. (Photo: USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank)

Reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley received sentences Monday for their convictions on charges of bank fraud and tax evasion.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, plus 16 months on probation. His wife and co-star on Chrisley Knows Best was handed down a sentence of seven years, as well as 16 months of probation.

In June, the couple were convicted of having inflated their net worth in order to secure more than $30 million in fraudulent loans. They were also found to have dodged their taxes since as early as 2009 and to have hidden their earnings from the show from the IRS. (In fact, their accountant, Peter Tarantino, was convicted of filing false reports for them. He was sentenced to three years in prison.) Julie was also found guilty of committing wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

The Chrisleys denied any wrongdoing, and their lawyer said they had been unaware that an employee had been defrauding the government.

The Chrisleys could have faced much longer sentences. Prosecutors had sought a maximum of 22 years in prison for Todd and 13 for Julie.

“The seriousness of the Chrisleys’ crimes cannot be understated. After they defrauded community banks out of tens of millions of dollars, they hid millions of dollars from the IRS, all while going on television to boast about how much they spend on designer clothes,” they wrote in their request. “And when they learned that they were under investigation for those crimes, they involved their own family members and friends to obstruct justice.”

On the same day the reality stars were sentenced, a person familiar with the situation told Yahoo Entertainment that some episodes of the Chrisleys’ show that were filmed before their trial would air. However, it’s unclear what will happen with that show or a spinoff, Growing Up Chrisley, which airs on E!. A dating series that had been planned for that channel, which was supposed to have been hosted by Todd, is no longer in the works.

Yahoo Entertainment has reached out to both USA and E! for comment.

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