When Will the Chrisleys Be Released? Pardon and Aftermath

Todd and Julie Chrisley walked out of federal prison on May 28, 2025, one day after President Donald Trump granted them full pardons. The question of when the Chrisleys would be released was effectively answered by a phone call from the White House to their daughter Savannah on the evening of May 27, 2025; by the next day, both were home. They had served roughly two and a half years of a combined 19-year sentence for bank fraud and tax evasion.

How They Ended Up in Prison

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, tax evasion, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Julie faced additional charges of wire fraud and obstruction of justice.¹

Prosecutors said the Chrisleys had submitted fraudulent documents to Atlanta-area community banks to obtain more than $36 million in personal loans, using new loans to pay off old ones and eventually walking away from more than $20 million in debt after Todd filed for bankruptcy. On the tax side, the government said the couple ran a “loan-out company” called 7C’s Productions to hide income and dodge roughly $500,000 in delinquent taxes, failing to file returns or pay any taxes for the 2013 through 2016 tax years.²

After a nearly three-week trial, a jury convicted the Chrisleys on all counts on June 7, 2022. On November 21, 2022, U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross sentenced Todd to 12 years in prison and Julie to seven, each followed by 16 months of probation, and ordered them to pay $17.8 million in restitution.²³

The couple reported to prison on January 17, 2023. Todd was sent to the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Florida; Julie went to the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky.⁴

Julie’s Appeal Trimmed Her Case But Not Her Sentence

In June 2024, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the convictions but vacated Julie Chrisley’s sentence, finding that the trial judge had improperly held her accountable for the entire bank fraud scheme, including losses dating to 2006 for which there was no evidence she was involved. The case went back to the district court for resentencing.⁵

At a September 25, 2024, resentencing hearing, Julie’s attorney Alex Little argued she was a “minor player” and asked for no more than five years, pointing to her good behavior and more than 70 certificates she had earned in prison. Prosecutor Annalise Peters pushed for the original seven-year term, calling Julie a “core part” of an “11-year journey of fraud.” Judge Ross reimposed the seven years and reduced Julie’s restitution from $17.8 million to $4.7 million.⁶⁵ Julie was appealing again when the pardon made the question moot.

The Pardon Campaign

Their daughter Savannah Chrisley became the public face of the push to free her parents. She spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention, where she criticized the prosecutors in the case, and appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference to advocate for criminal justice reform.⁷⁸⁹ On her podcast and social media, she frequently called the Department of Justice the “Department of Injustice” and argued her parents had been unfairly targeted because of their celebrity.

The Pardon and the Release

On the evening of May 27, 2025, President Trump called Savannah to tell her he was pardoning both of her parents. White House spokesman 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.”⁹

Both were released from their respective facilities the next day, May 28, 2025. Savannah picked up her father in Pensacola; her brother Grayson collected Julie in Lexington.¹⁰ They had served less than two and a half years of their sentences.⁴

The pardon did not extend to the Chrisleys’ accountant, Peter Tarantino, who was convicted alongside them and sentenced to three years. He served roughly 18 months and was released in November 2024. As of mid-2025, Tarantino said he intended to seek his own pardon to restore his voting rights and CPA license.¹¹

What the Pardon Did and Didn’t Erase

A full pardon ended the Chrisleys’ prison terms and the probation that would have followed. Its effect on the money is less tidy. Under a 1995 Department of Justice memo, unpaid financial obligations tied to a criminal sentence are generally forgiven by a full pardon unless the pardon says otherwise.¹² The Chrisleys’ attorney said the pardon “nullified” a court-ordered forfeiture of more than $22 million.¹³ No reporting has confirmed whether the victims owed restitution will ultimately collect anything.

The convictions themselves still stand on paper. A pardon forgives; it doesn’t reverse a jury verdict, and the 11th Circuit’s 2024 ruling affirming the convictions remains on the books.

What the Chrisleys Have Said Since

Todd and Julie held a press conference in Nashville on May 29, 2025, with Savannah and their legal team. Todd maintained his innocence: “Even though this pardon has happened, I still was convicted of something that I did not do.” He said defendants are pressured to “bow down and kiss the ass of the Department of Justice and accept responsibility for things that you did not do in order to avoid a stronger sentence.”¹⁴

Critics pointed out that a jury had convicted the couple and an appeals court had upheld those convictions.¹⁵ Todd said much of the online backlash was aimed at the identity of the person who pardoned them rather than the pardon itself.¹⁶ The family said they would continue advocating for prison reform and for the inmates they left behind.¹⁴

Filming for a new show began immediately. Todd told reporters cameras rolled “literally the night that we got home.”¹⁴ Lifetime’s eight-episode docuseries The Chrisleys: Back to Reality premiered on September 1, 2025, documenting the family’s path through incarceration, the pardon campaign, and the couple’s release.¹⁷

1
People. Chrisley Family Fraud Trial Everything to Know
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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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Good Morning America. Julie Chrisley Resentenced in Bank Fraud and Tax Evasion Case
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Pensacola News Journal. Todd and Julie Chrisley Released After Trump Pardon
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Fox 5 Atlanta. Julie Chrisley Appealing Resentencing in Bank Fraud and Tax Evasion Case
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Atlanta News First. Reality TV Star Julie Chrisley Appeals Resentencing Ruling
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Fox 5 Atlanta. Savannah Chrisley Talks to Lara Trump About Prison Reform
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Fox 5 Atlanta. Savannah Chrisley Advocates for Parents Release During White House Visit
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CNBC. Trump Pardons Todd and Julie Chrisley
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People. Todd and Julie Chrisley Released From Prison After Pardon From President Trump
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Trump Signs Chrisleys Pardons; Their Former Accountant Wants One Too
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Al Jazeera. Fact-Checking Claims Trumps Pardons Wiped Out Debt Owed to U.S.
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The Tennessean. Todd and Julie Chrisley Pardon Release and First Statements
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NBC News. Chrisley Family Holds First Press Conference After Trump Pardon
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ABC News. Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley Discuss Freedom
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Variety. Todd and Julie Chrisley Address Critics of Trump Pardon
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Lifetime. The Chrisleys Back to Reality Season 1