Savannah Chrisley says despite the father Todd Chrisleywith the appeal rejected, he is more focused on his wife, Julie Chrisleyhaving your sentence was rejected and possibly be released from prison.
In her last episode Unlocked podcast, the 26 year old Chrisley Knows Best star says her father is ‘fine’ after federal appeals judges decided last month that the prison sentences of him and their accountant, Peter Tarantino will remain upheld. She added that the Chrisley patriarch, 55, is most concerned about the ruling that 51-year-old Julie’s case will be sent back to the lower court for a new sentence.
“He was crying, like, happy tears knowing that his mom could be home. The only thing he cares about right now is getting her home,” Savannah told podcast listeners.
In documents obtained by ET, a legal error was found in the way the trial judge calculated Julie’s sentence, as he held her responsible for the entire bank fraud scheme. The appeals panel sent her case back to the lower court for a new sentence.
“But we must vacate Julie’s sentence so that the district court can address the narrow question of what is the appropriate amount of forfeiture attributable to Julie for purposes of the base offense level, restitution, and forfeiture,” the brief states. “The district court must make factual findings about when Julie’s involvement in the conspiracy began and, if it concludes that Julie’s involvement began in 2006, it must identify the evidence on which it bases its finding. In vacating and remanding on this issue, we express no opinion as to what the appropriate amount of forfeiture should be.”
Julie, who reported to prison as of January 2023, is currently serving a reduced five-year sentence in Lexington, Kentucky.
Following the news of their new sentence, Alex Little, Todd and Julie’s attorney, told ET in a statement: “We are pleased that the Court agreed that Julie’s sentence was improper, but we are obviously disappointed that it rejected Todd’s appeal. With this step behind us, we can now challenge the couple’s convictions based on the illegal search that initiated the case. The family appreciates the continued support they have received throughout this process. And they are hopeful for more good news in the future.”
“Mom’s obviously heartbroken for dad, but hopefully she’ll be able to come home and then she’ll be able to visit him, and that’ll be a game-changer, I think, for his mental health and overall well-being and for hers as well,” Savannah said. “So I hope that happens, but it’s been crazy.”
The reality TV star said she hopes there will be more news to share in the next 90 days. And if all goes well, Savannah hopes her mother will be released from prison by Thanksgiving.
“So now we sit and wait. Hopefully it won’t be more than 90 days until the hearing and she comes home,” Savannah said.
She later added, “My goal is to have her home by Thanksgiving.”
“I’m in this situation where I want to celebrate, but at the same time, I don’t want to get my hopes up, and I tend to do that a lot,” Savannah added.
If Julie is released, Savannah says it will free her to focus on her father, who is serving his reduced 10-year prison sentence in Pensacola, Florida.
Meanwhile, Savannah is already planning how she will help her mother readjust if she is released from prison soon.
“It’s going to be challenging for her to come home and there’s going to be a lot of therapy involved…anything I can do to help her get into the best space she can be in is what I’m going to do…just get her on the right track because I can only imagine how she’s going to feel coming home, and it’s going to be overwhelming,” said Savannah, who also imagined how she’ll break the news about Julie’s release from prison to her 18-year-old brother, Grayson, and 11-year-old sister, Chloe. “And when I get the call that she can come home, I honestly don’t think I’m going to tell anyone. I’ll probably pick her up, bring her home, let her get settled and then let Chloe and Grayson come into the room and not know she’s there.”
In August 2019, Todd and Julie were indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, five counts of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, and one count of tax fraud. Julie was also charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. They were also ordered to pay $17.8 million in restitution.
In June 2022, after a three-week trial, Julie and Todd were found guilty on all charges. The pair were sentenced to a total of 19 years in federal prison. They reported to prison in January 2023.
As for Peter, the accountant is serving time at a facility in Montgomery, Alabama, and is set to be released in August of next year.
Julie and Todd had a small victory in January, as received $1 million in his 2019 federal lawsuit against Joshua Waites for alleged misconduct in its investigation.
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