Atlanta

Savannah Chrisley tells parents to ‘stand strong’ ahead of Atlanta appeals hearing

By WSBTV.com News Staff

Savannah, Todd & Julie Chrisley Savannah Chrisley said that her parents are passing their time in prison doing a lot reading and writing. She said her parents are now focusing on their own plights to help others. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images)

By WSBTV.com News Staff

ATLANTA — Savannah Chrisley is urging her parents Todd and Julie Chrisley to keep their faith as they get prepared for an appeals hearing here in Atlanta on Friday.

In June 2022, a jury found the “Chrisley Knows Best” couple guilty on charges of criminal bank fraud and tax evasion. Their accountant, Peter Tarantino, was convicted of filing two false corporate tax returns.

In Nov. 2022, a federal judge sentenced Todd Chrisley to 12 years in prison, Julie Chrisley to seven years in prison, and Tarantino to three years in prison.

During the latest episode of her podcast, Savannah Chrisley was offering words of encouragement and urged them to keep fighting, People Magazine reported.

“I just keep telling my parents like, stand strong, stand firm. Don’t give up,” Savannah said. “It’s so hard for them because they just have no faith in what’s happening so it’s hard for them to stay positive.”

In the last couple of weeks, a jury found that Todd Chrisley defamed a Georgia Department of Revenue agent, and now owes her $755,000.

One of the challenges the Chrisleys are making is over the district court’s forfeiture order, saying they need to pay more than $17 million.

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The couple said the order “should be vacated because the district court failed to enter a preliminary forfeiture order … and claim that the district court allegedly did not provide a basis for its forfeiture order.”

In court documents filed on Wednesday, the government refuted that claim, saying: “At sentencing, the government laid out extensive testimony and evidence in support of the $17 million forfeiture amount, and the defendants were given an opportunity to cross-examine the government’s witness and present evidence. The district court also instructed the Chrisley defendants to file any written objections to the $17 million actual loss figure within two weeks, which the Chrisleys never did—before or after the court issued the forfeiture order two weeks after sentencing.”

Above and beyond wanting their conviction overturned, the Chrisleys are hoping to at least be granted bond so they can leave federal prison.

Savannah Chrisley said during a recent episode of her podcast that her mother was taking classes as part of the First Step Act, which provides inmates with credits for “an early release.”

According to the Bureau of Prisons, the “reentry programs” are “designed to ensure all sentenced inmates have the skills necessary to succeed upon release,” People said.

“It’s just so hard knowing that it could not go in our direction and that’s a tough pill to swallow,” Savannah Chrisley said. “But at the same time if it doesn’t go in our direction we have other avenues to take.”

Channel 2 Action News first started investigating the Chrisleys in 2017, when we learned that Todd Chrisley had likely evaded paying Georgia state income taxes for several years.

Court documents obtained by Channel 2 Action News showed that by 2018, the Chrisleys owed the state nearly $800,000 in liens.

The couple eventually went to trial and a federal jury found them guilty of bank fraud and tax evasion in June 2022.

The Chrisleys’ hearing in front of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is a 9 a.m. Friday.

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Jury says Todd Chrisley defamed GA Revenue agent, awards her $755,000 in damages


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