A federal appeals court tossed out reality TV star Julie Chrisley’s seven-year sentence for bank fraud and tax evasion, sending her case back to a lower court for resentencing.
The appeals court meanwhile affirmed the conviction and sentence of Julie’s husband, Todd Chrisley, who’s currently serving 12 years behind bars.
The Chrisleys were convicted in 2022 of conspiring to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans. The famous couple, best known for starring in their family-centric reality show “Chrisley Knows Best,” was also found guilty of tax evasion by hiding their earnings.
On Friday, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Chrisley’s convictions, but vacated Julie’s punishment, noting the trial judge incorrectly calculated the length of her sentence by holding her responsible for the entire bank fraud scheme.
“The district court did not identify the evidence it relied on to hold Julie accountable for losses incurred before 2007,” the court wrote in its ruling. “So we vacate Julie’s sentence and remand solely for the district court to make the factual findings and calculations necessary to determine loss, restitution, and forfeiture as to Julie and to resentence her accordingly.”
In a statement to The Associated Press, the couple’s attorney said they were “pleased that the Court agreed that Julie’s sentence was improper, but we’re obviously disappointed that it rejected Todd’s appeal.”
He added that the Chrisley family remains “hopeful for more good news in the future.”
The couple’s daughter, Savannah Chrisley, also acknowledged the ruling in a video shared on Instagram, telling followers she was pleased her mother would be returning home a bit sooner.
“We got the opinion back on the appeal. It didn’t necessarily go as we had hoped, but we do have a little win,” she said, noting the court could not attribute a loss of $17 million to her mother. “I hope and pray that the judge can send her home.”
Julie Chrisley has been serving her initial seven-year sentence at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Ky., while Todd Chrisley is locked up at the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Fla.
In the summer of last year, Savannah and her brother Chase Chrisley claimed on her podcast that her parents were living in “inhumane” prison conditions with poisonous snakes, black mold, and 100-degree heat.
With News Wire Services
