CHRISLEY KNOWS BEST — Season:6 — Pictured: (l-r) Chase Chrisley, Grayson Chrisley, Julie Chrisley, Todd Chrisley, Chloe Chrisley, Savannah Chrisley and Faye Chrisley.
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President Donald Trump is pardoning reality television stars Julie and Todd Chrisley, who are currently serving federal prison sentences for conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. In a video that appeared today on X (formerly Twitter), Trump calls the Chrisleys’ daughter, Savannah Chrisley, who spoke at the Republican Convention last July and appeared on Lara Trump’s Fox News show early this month, to share the news. In the video, Trump says he hopes to push the paperwork through by tomorrow.
Background
The Chrisleys rose to fame as stars of the reality television show “Chrisley Knows Best.” The successful series followed the Chrisley family, including adult children and Todd Chrisley’s mother, inspiring several spinoffs. Part of the appeal of the series was the family’s lavish lifestyle.
In 2019, the couple was indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple charges. The Chrisleys’ accountant, Peter Tarantino, was also indicted on tax-related offenses.
At the time, Todd declared his innocence on Instagram, blaming a former employee, claiming:
“Needless to say, we fired the guy and took him to court — and that’s when the real trouble started. To get revenge, he took a bunch of his phony documents to the U.S. Attorney’s office and told them we had committed all kinds of financial crimes, like tax evasion and bank fraud. That got their attention all right, but once we had a chance to explain who he was and what he’d done to us, they realized it was all a bunch of nonsense and they sent him on his way.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also released a statement at the time—it was very different. U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak said about the indictment, “Todd and Julie Chrisley are charged not only with defrauding a number of banks by fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in loans, but also with allegedly cheating taxpayers by actively evading paying federal taxes on the money they earned. Celebrities face the same justice that everyone does. These are serious federal charges and they will have their day in court.”
According to Pak, the charges and other information suggested that Todd and Julie Chrisley conspired to defraud multiple banks by providing false information, including personal financial statements and forged bank statements, while applying for and receiving millions of dollars in loans. After fraudulently obtaining these loans, the Chrisleys allegedly spent much of the proceeds for their personal benefit.
The government also claimed that, in 2014, two years after the purported bank fraud scheme ended, Todd and Julie Chrisley utilized altered bank statements and a falsified credit report that had been physically modified through cutting, taping, or gluing when applying for and securing a lease for a home in California.
The couple was also charged with conspiring with their accountant, Peter Tarantino, to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to the Department of Justice, in February 2017, Todd Chrisley claimed on a national radio program that “obviously the federal government likes my tax returns because I pay 750,000 to 1 million dollars just about every year so the federal government doesn’t have a problem with my taxes.” However, according to the original indictment, the Chrisleys allegedly failed to file income tax returns for the 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 tax years in a timely manner or pay federal income taxes for any of those years on time.
The Chrisleys and Tarantino were also accused of taking steps to obstruct IRS collection efforts, which included hiding income and lying to third parties about their tax returns. Tarantino was hit with a separate charge of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agents.
(Notwithstanding Chrisley’s claims that it was a set-up, it isn’t the first time the Chrisleys faced tax troubles. A bankruptcy petition from 2012 claiming tens of millions of dollars in debt listed several local tax collectors listed as debtors. In 2017, a local TV station, Nashville’s WSB-TV, reported that the Chrisleys were slapped with nearly $800,000 in liens by the Georgia Department of Revenue.)
Convictions and Appeals
On June 7, 2022, a jury convicted the Chrisleys on all counts of a superseding indictment, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit tax evasion. Julie was convicted of an additional charge of obstruction of justice because she submitted a fraudulent document in response to a grand jury subpoena. Tarantino was also convicted of multiple tax-related violations. In November, the couple was sentenced: Todd received a 12-year prison term and Julie received a seven-year sentence. (Tarantino received a three-year sentence.)
Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said about the outcome of the trial, “In the end, when driven by greed, the verdict of guilty on all counts for these three defendants proves once again that financial crimes do not pay.”
The couple maintained their innocence and appealed their sentences. Todd’s appeal was rejected, but Julie’s case was returned for resentencing due to a discrepancy in calculations. In 2024, a federal judge declined to reduce Julie’s sentence. At the time, she expressed remorse for her actions, saying, “I would like to say I’ve had years to think about what I’ve wanted to say, and I’m sorry for my actions and situations that led us to where we are today.”
Before the pardon news, Julie had an expected release date of January 8, 2028, and Todd was expected to be released on April 7, 2032.
Savannah Chrisley continued to be in the public eye, speaking at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After the presidential election, Savannah reportedly sought a pardon for her parents. She visited the White House in February 2025, and appeared on “My View with Lara Trump” on Fox News earlier this month. She also pitched a new reality TV show: According to The Hollywood Reporter, a newly greenlit docuseries, The Untitled Chrisleys Project, will premiere later this year on Lifetime television. Savannah is named as an executive producer on the show, which aims at “pulling back the curtain” with “unprecedented access to their lives in a deeply personal and dramatic new series.”
Trump is expected to sign the pardons within 24 hours. In the social media video, Savannah and her brother, Grayson, can be heard thanking Trump.
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