Seven-year prison sentence for reality star Julie Chrisley confirmed

Reality star Julie Chrisley was sentenced to another seven years in prison on Wednesday after a judge rejected her request to reduce her prison sentence for tax evasion and bank fraud.

Julie Chrisley, the female half of the reality power couple “Chrisley Knows Best,” rose to meteoric fame alongside her husband Todd Chrisley as they shared with viewers the lavish lifestyle of their close-knit family.

In 2022, they were found guilty of defrauding local banks of over $30 million in loans and concealing their income to reduce their tax burden.

In June of this year, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the couple's convictions. They also found that the trial judge had made a legal error in calculating Julie Chrisley's sentence as if she were responsible for the entire period of the bank fraud, rather than just part of it. Her case was therefore sent back to the lower court for a retrial. Her lawyers had asked for a maximum sentence of five years.

Todd Chrisley's 12-year prison sentence was upheld. While his wife's sentence remained the same, the amount of restitution and forfeiture Chrisley was required to pay was reduced.

“This was an 11-year journey of fraud after fraud after fraud,” said prosecutor Annalise Peters, according to the Journal-Constitution. “Even after the defendant knew she was under investigation for bank fraud, she committed at least three different types of fraud.”

Chrisley's lawyers also asked U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross to consider the impact of the ruling on her children, particularly her two youngest, who are 11 and 18. Ross, however, said that as a parent, you are not immune from having to face the consequences of your actions and that it is best for the children if their parents take responsibility.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chrisley apologized publicly for her behavior for the first time.

“I can never repay my children for what they have been through and I am sorry for that,” she said tearfully in court in front of her two oldest children, Savannah and Chase Chrisley. “I apologize for my actions and for what brought me to where I am today.”

With News Wire Services

Originally published: September 25, 2024 at 3:53 pm