One can always rely on Donald Trump to lend a hand a fellow reality star in need. This time, they’re Julie and Todd Chrisley, who headlined the hit s
One can always rely on Donald Trump to lend a hand a fellow reality star in need. This time, they’re Julie and Todd Chrisley, who headlined the hit series Chrisley Knows Best—and were convicted on bank fraud and tax evasion charges in 2022.
The Chrisleys were found guilty of both evading taxes and conspiracy to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million to fund their lavish lifestyle, as seen on TV. Julie was also found guilty of wire fraud and obstruction of justice. And their accountant, Peter Tarantino, was found guilty of multiple tax crimes as well, including conspiring to defraud the IRS and filing two false corporate tax returns on the behalf of the Chrisleys’ company.
Tarantino was sentenced to three years in federal prison, while his former clients Julie and Todd were sentenced to seven and 12 years, respectively. “As today’s outcome shows, when you lie, cheat and steal, justice is blind as to your fame, your fortune, and your position,” Keri Farley, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a statement at the time of the convictions. “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.”
But just three years later, the Chrisleys have seized a get-out-of-jail-free card from President Trump, with their pardons likely to be signed Wednesday, a White House official familiar with the plans told The Washington Post.
A video posted on X by White House communications adviser Margo Martin shows Trump on a call in the Oval Office with the Chrisleys’ 27-year-old daughter, Savannah. “Your parents are going to be free and clean, and I hope we can do it by tomorrow,” Trump said on the call, joined by his administration’s pardon czar, Alice Marie Johnson. Trump added of the Chrisleys, “They were given pretty harsh treatment based on what I’m hearing…. I don’t know them, but give them my regards, and wish them a good life.”
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In a subsequent appearance on NewsNation’s On Balance, Savannah Chrisley said Trump spoke with her on the phone, saying, “You guys don’t look like terrorists.” Ahead, a breakdown of the Chrisleys’ crimes, conviction, and a reality TV comeback already percolating over on Lifetime.
Who are the Chrisleys?
The Chrisleys shot to fame about a decade ago with the 2014 debut of their USA Network reality show, Chrisley Knows Best. That sitcom-style series follows Todd and Julie, multimillionaire Christian real estate moguls raising five kids in a sprawling Atlanta mansion. On the show, which spawned spin-offs Growing Up Chrisley and According to Chrisley, members of the clan regularly flaunt both their luxurious lifestyle and madcap family dynamics involving Todd’s mother, affectionately known as Nanny Faye.
But according to prosecutors in the Chrisley case, their public reputation was “based on the lie that their wealth came from dedication and hard work.” In fact, the prosecution said, the Chrisleys were “career swindlers who have made a living by jumping from one fraud scheme to another, lying to banks, stiffing vendors and evading taxes at every corner.” (The Chrisleys have denied any wrongdoing.)
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