Todd and Julie Chrisley Released: Convictions, Pardon, and Criticism

President Donald Trump granted full pardons to Todd and Julie Chrisley on May 27, 2025, and the reality television couple walked out of federal prison the next day. The Todd and Julie Chrisley pardon ended sentences of 12 and seven years for bank fraud and tax evasion, erased $4.7 million in court-ordered restitution, and closed one of the highest-profile white-collar cases of the past decade after the couple had served roughly two and a half years.¹²

What the Chrisleys Were Convicted Of

A federal grand jury in Atlanta indicted the couple in August 2019 on 12 counts including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and tax evasion. Julie faced additional wire fraud and obstruction of justice charges.³

Prosecutors said the Chrisleys defrauded community banks of more than $30 million by submitting fake bank statements, bogus audit reports, and inflated personal financial statements to secure loans that funded a lavish lifestyle. When money ran short, they took new fraudulent loans to pay off old ones. Todd eventually filed for bankruptcy, leaving more than $20 million in unpaid loans behind. The government also accused the couple of hiding reality-television income from the IRS and owing about $500,000 in back taxes.⁴⁵

A jury convicted them on all counts on June 7, 2022. On November 21, 2022, U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross sentenced Todd to 12 years in prison plus 16 months of probation, and Julie to seven years plus 16 months of probation. The court ordered $17.8 million in restitution. Both reported to prison on January 17, 2023.³⁶

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld both convictions in June 2024 but found an error in how Julie’s sentence had been calculated and sent her case back. On September 25, 2024, the trial judge reimposed the same seven-year term and reduced restitution from $17.8 million to $4.7 million.⁷

How the Pardon Came About

The clemency push was driven by the couple’s daughter, Savannah Chrisley, who spent more than two years campaigning for her parents’ release. She used her podcast and social media to publicize the case and conditions in federal prisons, and worked alongside Alice Johnson, a criminal justice advocate who had herself received a pardon from Trump in his first term.⁸

Savannah’s most visible moment came on July 16, 2024, when she gave a prime-time address at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. She said her parents had been targeted by “rogue prosecutors” because of their “public profile and conservative beliefs,” referenced a prosecutor who had called the family “the Trumps of the South,” and compared their treatment to Hunter Biden’s, declaring, “We have a two-face justice system.”⁹ Fact-checkers pointed out that the case was a federal prosecution in Atlanta, not a Fulton County matter, and that the original indictment came down in 2019, during Trump’s first administration.¹⁰

In February 2025, Savannah met with Trump at the White House to request the pardons directly and rallied support at the Conservative Political Action Conference the same month. The family’s legal team, led by attorney Jay Surgent, formally announced plans to seek clemency, pointing to what the defense characterized as unfair treatment and alleged prosecutorial misconduct during the original trial.⁸¹¹

Trump signed the pardons on May 27, 2025. In a phone call to the family, he called the sentences “outrageous” and said the Chrisleys had been “treated unfairly from everyone that he has spoken to.”¹² A White House spokesperson 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.”¹¹

What the Pardon Covered

Both pardons were full. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Todd’s release from the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Florida, and Julie’s from the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, on May 28, 2025.¹ The $4.7 million restitution order was effectively wiped out by the full and unconditional pardon.²

The pardons did not extend to the Chrisleys’ co-defendant. Peter Tarantino, the couple’s accountant, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and willfully filing false tax returns, and was sentenced to three years. He served about 18 months and was released in November 2024. Tarantino maintains his innocence and has said he intends to seek his own pardon to restore his voting rights and CPA license; as of mid-2025, none had been granted.¹³¹⁴

Criticism From Former Prosecutors

The pardons drew public criticism from former federal prosecutors in Atlanta. John Ghose, a former federal prosecutor, said the pardons could “deter federal investigators and prosecutors” from taking on complex white-collar cases and called the pattern “undisciplined” and “scary.” David Nahmias, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, warned that if prosecutors come to believe cases against well-connected defendants will be undone by clemency, it could “exacerbate the crisis” in federal law enforcement. Other commentators said the pardons raised the appearance of “quid pro quo” and sent the message that “justice can be bought.”¹⁵

What the Chrisleys Have Done Since

At a Nashville press conference on May 30, 2025, Todd Chrisley continued to deny the underlying conduct. “I was convicted of something I did not do,” he said.⁵ He pledged to “continue to fight for the wrongly convicted and speak out about the conditions inside prison.”¹⁶ Both have said their post-prison focus is on criminal justice and prison reform, prompted by people they met while incarcerated.¹⁷ Savannah has separately said she will keep advocating in Washington for sentencing reform and rehabilitation programs for women in prison.¹⁸

In August 2025, Todd returned to FPC Pensacola as a guest speaker at the facility’s drug abuse treatment program graduation, describing it as a way to give back to inmates still inside a prison he says mistreated him.¹⁹

The family also returned to television. “The Chrisleys: Back to Reality,” an eight-episode Lifetime series documenting their incarceration, the pardon, and their return home to Tennessee, premiered as a two-night event on September 1 and 2, 2025, with remaining episodes running Tuesday nights through a September 16, 2025 finale. Savannah and Chase Chrisley served as executive producers.²⁰ Their original USA Network series “Chrisley Knows Best” and the spinoff “Growing Up Chrisley” had both been canceled after the 2022 convictions, along with a planned E! dating show, “Love Limo.”⁴

Todd and Julie have also discussed plans to buy a mansion in Charleston, South Carolina, convert it into a hotel, and film the process for another possible television project. The venture was still in early planning as of mid-2025.²¹

1
ABC News. Trump Officially Pardons Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
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State of California Governor’s Office. Trump Criminals Report
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People. Chrisley Family Fraud Trial Everything to Know
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Deadline. Chrisley Knows Best Stars Sentenced, Shows Canceled
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USC Annenberg. Pardoning Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
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ABC News. Julie Chrisley Resentenced on Bank Fraud and Tax Evasion Charges
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Los Angeles Times. Julie Chrisley Resentenced on Bank Fraud and Tax Evasion
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CNN. Todd and Julie Chrisley, Savannah Chrisley, and Alice Johnson
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NPR. Reality Star Savannah Chrisley Parents RNC
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WSB-TV. RNC Speech: Savannah Chrisley Claims Politics Played Role in Her Parents’ Conviction
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People. Todd Julie Chrisley Tax Fraud Case Pardon Everything to Know
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The Hill. Trump Pardons Todd Julie Chrisley
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U.S. Department of Justice. Television Personalities Sentenced to Years in Federal Prison for Fraud and Tax Evasion
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Trump Signs Chrisleys’ Pardons; Their Former Accountant Wants One Too
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Trump’s Pardons May Backfire, Former Federal Prosecutors Warn
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Fox 5 San Diego. Todd and Julie Chrisley Speak to Press After Pardon
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ABC News. Reality TV Stars Todd Julie Chrisley Discuss Freedom
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Fox 5 Atlanta. Todd Julie Chrisley Released From Prison After Trump Pardon
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WKRG. Todd Chrisley Speaks at Pensacola Prison, Critiques Inmate Treatment
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Pensacola News Journal. Julie Todd Chrisley Prison Pardon Show Lifetime
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People. Todd Julie Chrisley Want to Move to Charleston South Carolina