Trump pardons Julie and Todd Chrisley, reality TV stars convicted in 2022 of fraud and tax evasion

PENSACOLA Fla AP President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed pardons for reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley who have been serving federal prison sentences since being convicted three years ago of bank fraud and tax evasion Trump s pardons pave the way for the couple best known for the TV series Chrisley Knows Best to be freed from prison Todd Chrisley has been incarcerated at a minimum guard prison camp in Pensacola Florida Julie Chrisley was imprisoned at a facility in Lexington Kentucky The Chrisleys TV show portrayed them as a tight-knit family with an extravagant lifestyle Prosecutors at the couple s trial commented the couple spent lavishly on high-priced cars designer clothes real estate and progress after taking out fraudulent bank loans worth millions of dollars and hiding their earnings from tax bureaucrats Trump declared his intention to pardon the Chrisleys on Tuesday saying the celebrity couple had been given a pretty harsh medicine based on what I m hearing It was another example of the president himself a former reality TV star pardoning high-profile friends supporters donors and former staffers The Chrisleys attorney Alex Little noted Tuesday that Trump s pardon corrects a deep injustice in which the celebrity couple were targeted because of their conservative values and high profile Before she was pardoned Julie Chrisley had been scheduled for release in January according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website Todd Chrisley was to remain imprisoned until September During the couple s trial prosecutors noted the Chrisleys hadn t yet become TV stars when they and a former business partner submitted false documents to banks in the Atlanta area to obtain fraudulent loans New loans were taken out to pay off the old ones according to prosecutors until Todd Chrisley filed for bankruptcy walking away from more than million in unpaid loans The Chrisleys defense attorneys had argued that an IRS officer gave false testimony at their trial and that prosecutors lacked evidence to assistance convictions A panel of judges of the th U S Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Chrisleys convictions last year Source