The imprisoned reality television couple known for the TV show “Chrisley Knows Best” will seek pardons from President Donald Trump following their convictions in a scheme to defraud banks out of millions, their attorney said Friday.
Todd and Julie Chrisley were convicted in November 2022 following a federal trial in Atlanta. Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years and Julie Chrisley was sentenced to seven years.
The couple was accused of conspiring to defraud Atlanta-area banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans. Their accountant was also convicted on fraud and tax counts.
“They believe that the president will seriously consider pardoning both Julie and Todd Chrisley as a result of the unfair treatment they received in the criminal justice system,” Jay Surgent, an attorney for the Chrisleys, said in a phone interview.
Surgent said the request for a pardon will argue that their constitutional rights were violated by the search of a warehouse without a warrant, among other matters. The judge declined to suppress that evidence because of procedural mistakes by the trial defense attorneys, Surgent said.
He said the pardon request should be filed with Trump’s legal counsel in around two to four months.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the planned pardon request Friday night.
The couple’s USA Network television series showcasing the millionaire southern family first aired in 2014 and ran for 10 seasons.
Two of their children, Savannah and Chase Chrisley, had their own spinoff series, “Growing Up Chrisley,” which aired for three seasons on USA Network.
Todd and Julie Chrisley are Trump supporters, Surgent said, and Savannah Chrisley spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
At the convention, she read her parents’ prison identification numbers and claimed that Todd and Julie Chrisley were “persecuted by rogue prosecutors.”
“Due to our public profile and conservative beliefs, they accused my parents of fraud, when really we were defrauded by a dishonest business partner,” Savannah Chrisley said on stage. She said that the partner was granted immunity in the case.
Federal prosecutors said the scheme to defraud Atlanta-area banks went on for years and happened before Todd and Julie Chrisley became reality TV stars.
With the help of a former business partners, prosecutors said, the couple submitted false bank statements, audit reports and financial statements to get millions in loans.
“The Chrisleys then spent the money on luxury cars, designer clothes, real estate, and travel — and used new fraudulent loans to pay back old ones,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta said when they were convicted.
“After spending all the money, Todd Chrisley filed for bankruptcy and walked away from more than $20 million of the fraudulently obtained loans,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.
The couple, along with their accountant, was also accused of a conspiracy to defraud the IRS after they became famous on television, prosecutors said.
Todd and Julie Chrisley were found guilty by a jury on counts that include bank fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy. Julie Chrisley was also convicted on a count of obstruction of justice.
The accountant, Peter Tarantino, was also convicted on tax counts and was sentenced to three years in prison.
