The Chrisleys’ Jail Time: Fraud Case, Pardon, and Lawsuit

Todd and Julie Chrisley, stars of USA Network’s Chrisley Knows Best, went to jail in January 2023 after being convicted of federal bank fraud and tax evasion in Atlanta. Todd was sentenced to 12 years and sent to Federal Prison Camp Pensacola in Florida; Julie was sentenced to seven years and sent to Federal Medical Center Lexington in Kentucky.¹ They served roughly two and a half years before President Donald Trump granted them full pardons on May 28, 2025, and both were released the following day.²

What They Were Convicted Of

Federal prosecutors in the Northern District of Georgia laid out a decade-long scheme. Between roughly 2007 and 2012, the Chrisleys and a former business partner, Mark Braddock, submitted falsified bank statements, fabricated audit reports, and inflated personal financial statements to Atlanta-area community banks. Prosecutors said the couple obtained more than $36 million in personal loans this way, spending the proceeds on luxury cars, designer clothing, real estate, and travel. When earlier loans came due, they took out new fraudulent loans to cover them.³

In 2012, Todd Chrisley filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, listing $4.2 million in assets against $49.4 million in debt, and walked away from more than $20 million in fraudulently obtained obligations.³

The tax side was separate. Despite Todd Chrisley claiming publicly in 2017 that he paid between $750,000 and $1 million in taxes each year, the couple failed to file federal income tax returns or pay taxes for 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.⁴ They routed reality-show income through a loan-out company called 7C’s Productions, kept the account initially in Julie’s name only, and transferred ownership to a relative once the IRS started asking questions. Their accountant, Peter Tarantino, filed corporate returns for 7C’s Productions that falsely reported zero earnings and zero distributions for 2015 and 2016.³

After learning of the federal investigation, Julie Chrisley submitted a fraudulent document in response to a grand jury subpoena to make the bank-account transfer look legitimate. That conduct became her separate obstruction of justice conviction.³

The Verdict and Sentences

After a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross, a jury found both Chrisleys guilty on June 7, 2022. The convictions covered conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit tax evasion. Julie was also convicted of obstruction of justice. Tarantino was convicted alongside them of conspiracy to defraud the United States and filing false tax returns.⁵

On November 21, 2022, Judge Ross sentenced Todd to 12 years and Julie to seven, each followed by three years of supervised release. Tarantino received three years and a $35,000 fine. Todd and Julie were held jointly and severally liable for $17,270,741.57 in restitution and forfeiture.³ U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said the couple had “defrauded banks out of tens of millions of dollars while evading payment of their federal income taxes.” Prosecutors called them “career swindlers who have made a living by jumping from one fraud scheme to another.”⁶

USA Network canceled Chrisley Knows Best the same day. The series had aired for 10 seasons and 204 episodes since 2014.⁷

Where They Served Time

Todd and Julie reported to separate federal facilities on January 17, 2023. Todd went to Federal Prison Camp Pensacola, a minimum-security camp in Florida. Julie went to Federal Medical Center Lexington in Kentucky.¹ The couple later said they went 28 months without speaking to one another during their incarceration.⁸

Todd spoke publicly about conditions at Pensacola. In a December 2024 interview he described the facility as “filthy,” alleging black mold and asbestos, food in storage more than a year out of date, and a dead cat found in the ceiling above the food supply. He said staff restricted his commissary purchases and discussed “diesel therapy,” a practice of shackling and transporting an inmate around the country, as a way to “humble” him. He also said a photograph was taken of him while he slept and used in an attempt to extort his daughter for $2,600. The Federal Bureau of Prisons announced in December 2024 that FPC Pensacola would close, citing the need to “maximize resources,” “mitigate safety concerns,” and “alleviate staffing shortages.” The Navy, which owns the buildings, planned to demolish them once the facility emptied.⁹

The Appeals

All three defendants appealed. In June 2024, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld every conviction. It did, however, find a legal error in how the trial court had calculated Julie’s sentence. The district court had held her accountable for losses from the entire bank fraud scheme, but the panel ruled there was “insufficient evidence linking her to losses incurred before 2007.” Her sentence was vacated and the case returned for resentencing.¹⁰

On September 25, 2024, a federal judge resentenced Julie to the same seven years, rejecting a defense request to reduce the term to five. Julie appealed the resentencing to the Eleventh Circuit, where the matter was still pending when the presidential pardon rendered it moot.¹¹

The appeal also raised a dispute over trial testimony. IRS Officer Betty Carter had told the jury that the Chrisleys still owed taxes for 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, and 2016. It was later established that at the time of her testimony the couple owed nothing for 2014 or 2015, because payments they had made were not reflected in IRS databases. The parties eventually agreed her testimony on those two years was “incorrect,” and IRS Agent Brock Kinsler recalled telling prosecutors about the discrepancy on June 1, 2022, before trial ended. The appellate court still upheld the convictions.⁵

The Pardon and What It Erased

President Trump granted Todd and Julie Chrisley full pardons on May 28, 2025. They were released from their respective prisons the next day.² The couple’s daughter Savannah Chrisley had spent months publicly advocating for their release, including a speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024, in which she said her parents had been “persecuted by rogue prosecutors” because of their “public profile and conservative beliefs.”¹² White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said the president is “always pleased to give well-deserving Americans a second chance, especially those who have been unfairly targeted and overly prosecuted by an unjust justice system.”¹³

The pardon wiped out the restitution too. Todd and Julie jointly owed more than $22 million, with $17,270,742 attributed to Todd and $4,740,645 to Julie. According to a House committee document, the full pardon “fully relieved the Chrisleys of any obligation to pay restitution to their victims.”¹⁴ Before the pardon, it was not publicly known whether the Chrisleys had repaid any of the restitution. The federal government had taken enforcement steps, including garnishing roughly $30,000 from a law firm’s trust account and seeking to seize a settlement the couple had won in a separate lawsuit against a former Georgia Department of Revenue official.¹⁵

The Malpractice Lawsuit

On June 5, 2026, the Chrisleys filed a $25 million lawsuit against their former defense attorney Chris Anulewicz and the law firm Balch & Bingham, alleging legal malpractice and breach of contract. The complaint claims Anulewicz lacked meaningful criminal defense experience and that the firm assigned him to the case for publicity and financial gain.¹⁶

They allege their attorneys failed to timely suppress the emails, bank records, and financial documents that formed the core of the prosecution’s case, calling it a “catastrophic, unforced error.” The suit also accuses Anulewicz of exploiting the attorney-client relationship by steering the couple into a $75,000 investment in his brother-in-law’s startup food truck business.¹⁶ Patrick T. O’Connor, representing Anulewicz and Balch & Bingham, said the defendants had not yet been formally served but that the claims would be “vigorously defended.”¹⁷

Where the Chrisleys Are Now

The couple returned to television quickly. Chrisleys: Back to Reality, an eight-episode Lifetime docuseries covering their time behind bars, the pardon, and their reintegration, premiered on September 1, 2025.¹⁸ They appeared as contestants on the season 14 premiere of Fox’s The Masked Singer in January 2026, and Prime Video announced in May 2026 that Julie and Savannah Chrisley would star in a new reality show called Reality Retreat, scheduled for 2027.¹⁹

1
NBC News. Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley Begin Federal Prison Sentences
2
ABC News. Trump Officially Pardons Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
3
U.S. Department of Justice. Television Personalities Sentenced to Years in Federal Prison for Fraud and Tax Evasion
4
U.S. Department of Justice. Federal Grand Jury Indicts Chrisley Knows Best Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
5
Justia. United States v. Chrisley, No. 22-14074
6
WBAL-TV. Todd, Julie Chrisley Sentencing
7
The Futon Critic. Chrisley Knows Best
8
Insurance News Net. Todd Chrisley Back at Florida Prison Ahead of Its Closing
9
Pensacola News Journal. Todd Chrisley at Pensacola Federal Prison Camp
10
Fox 5 Atlanta. Appeals Court Overturns Julie Chrisley’s Sentence, Maintains Convictions
11
Atlanta News First. Reality TV Star Julie Chrisley Appeals Resentencing Ruling
12
NPR. Reality Star Savannah Chrisley Speaks About Parents at RNC
13
NBC News. Chase Chrisley Breaks Silence on Parents’ Pardons
14
U.S. House of Representatives. House Oversight Committee Submission
15
Fox 5 Atlanta. Todd, Julie Chrisley: Federal Court Orders Lawyers Turn Over Money
16
USA Today. Todd, Julie Chrisley Lawsuit Over Prison Conviction
17
Fox 5 Atlanta. Chrisleys Sue Former Attorney Over Criminal Case Defense
18
Pensacola News Journal. Julie, Todd Chrisley Prison Pardon Show on Lifetime
19
Palm Beach Post. Julie, Todd Chrisley Prison, Trump Pardon, and Streaming Shows