Todd and Julie Chrisley receive $1 million settlement from Georgia. Here’s why

Reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley hit a financial windfall even behind bars.

The former reality stars, known for their show “Chrisley Knows Best,” received a $1 million settlement from the State of Georgia stemming from a 2019 lawsuit following an investigation by the state into the couple on tax evasion.

The kicker, the couple is currently serving time for fraud and tax evasion.

“We have been saying for months that the criminal case against the Chrisleys was highly unusual and had real problems. This settlement is an encouraging sign. It’s nearly unprecedented for one arm of the government to pay money to defendants when another arm is fighting to keep them in jail,” wrote the family’s lawyer, Burr & Forman Partner Alex Little in a statement.

Why did Georgia pay the Chrisleys $1 million?

The settlement comes after the couple had filed a lawsuit against Joshua Waites, the former Director of Special Investigations of Georgia’s Department of Revenue, in 2019. The Chrisleys alleged that he had committed misconduct concerning his investigation of them.

The settlement came after Georgia agreed to pay $1 million.

The lawsuit was filed shortly after the federal government indicted the couple on fraud and tax charges.

Why are Todd and Julie Chrisley in jail?

The original indictment of Todd and Julie accused them of submitting fake bank and financial statements to financial institutions to get millions of dollars in loans, much of which they used for their personal benefit from at least 2007 to 2012.

“The Chrisleys, with the help of their former business partner, submitted false bank statements, audit reports, and personal financial statements to Georgia community banks to obtain the loans. The Chrisleys spent the money on luxury cars, designer clothes, real estate, and travel – and used new fraudulent loans to pay back old ones,” read a release from the United States Attorney’s Office at the time of the couple’s sentencing.

The couple was found guilty of tax evasion and defrauding community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans to fund their luxurious lifestyle which was flaunted in their reality TV show.

Julie was also convicted of wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

The couple were living in Nashville at the time they were charged.

They were found guilty after an Atlanta trial in June 2022.

Where are the Chrisleys imprisoned?

Todd was sentenced to 12 years at Florida’s Federal Prison Camp Pensacola while Julie received a seven-year sentence at Kentucky’s Federal Medical Center in Lexington.

The two began their prison sentences in January 2023.

The Chrisleys are working on an appeal of their criminal convictions. It will be heard by the federal appeals court in Atlanta in April, according to their attorney.