Julie Chrisley says she’s teaching and taking classes in prison, may lead to earlier release

ATLANTA — Julie Chrisley is teaching classes inside prison and it could lead to an earlier release date for her.

Chrisley, along with her husband Todd, mostly known for their reality TV series “Chrisley Knows Best,” were found guilty in 2022 of conspiring to defraud banks and the IRS out of millions of dollars.

During a recent episode of her podcast, the couple’s daughter Savannah Chrisley shared letters written by her mother from behind bars where she talked about not only teaching classes, but also taking them.

“I’m teaching a real estate class and I asked where I could get the info for the class,” Julie Chrisley wrote. “There’s an outdated book and access to a typewriter if you buy the ribbon and commissary.”

Savannah Chrisley said her mother was taking classes as part of the First Step Act, which provides inmates with credits for “an early release,” People Magazine reported.

“I have two classes tonight, too, and also being a judge for one of the other classes. I’m one of the sharks for their Shark Tank presentation,” Julie Chrisley wrote in one of her letters to her daughter.

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.

Julie Chrisley said her first FSA course “really was a waste of time, but at least I get credit.”

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But, she said that some good has come from the classes for her fellow inmates.

“I went upstairs and everyone was going crazy,” she wrote. “FSA credits had been applied and so many people’s dates got moved up. It’s going to be a crazy week. Lots of people are getting released.”

The Chrisleys are serving a combined 15 years in prison. They were originally sentenced to 19 years, but the sentences were reduced in September 2023.

Last month, Julie Chrisley’s attorney said he hoped that her sentence could be reduced even further and that she might be able to get out on bond as the couple continues to appeal their sentence.

Attorney Alex Little said he feels that the First Step Act could help in Julie’s case.

“We don’t know whether the judge would actually apply it in a way to reduce her sentence,” Little said. “We think it should if the judge would have followed the guidelines. And that could happen, you know, this year, early next year.”

Julie Chrisley said she also has a job inside the prison. She didn’t reveal what she was doing but said it was going well.

“I started work on the 27th [of February 2023],” She wrote. “I work Monday through Thursday, 6:00 a.m. until 1. I enjoy it because I stay busy.”

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.

RELATED NEWS:

Records show Chrisleys could be getting out of prison earlier than expected Their attorney said he believes the Chrisleys' sentence would be reduced even further once new sentencing guidelines are implemented in November.

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