Julie & Todd Chrisley ordered by judge to turn over $30,000 held in Alabama trust fund
While 2023 was a chaotic year for the jailed “Chrisley Knows Best” stars, 2024 has proven to also be eventful for Todd and Julie Chrisley.
A federal judge has ordered reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley to turn over nearly $30,000 that was held in a trust fund in Alabama.
According to Fox 5, courts had filed a Writ of Garnishment on Jan. 11 to demand the funds to help pay for the couple’s $17 million judgment following their guilty verdict. The former stars of “Chrisley Knows Best,” which premiered on USA Network and airs on E! Entertainment, were told they had the right to request a hearing before the court to determine exempt property and the right to object to the law firm’s response to the order.
After not hearing from the Chrisleys, a federal judge court ordered the law firm on May 16 to turn over the money in the couple’s IOLTA trust account.
What is an IOLTA account?
An Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) is a type of trust account used by lawyers to responsibly hold client funds.
“Lawyers may need to hold funds for retainers, settlement proceeds, and court-awarded damages, among other reasons,” Clio.com states. “Using an IOLTA account ensures any interest earned is remitted to state bar associations, which are donated to support legal aid programs and other public service initiatives.”
According to court documents, the Chrisleys had $29,932.23 in an IOLTA trust.
Where are the Chrisleys now in 2024?
The disgraced reality TV stars are still serving their prison sentences. Todd Chrisley began his 12-year sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Florida, on Jan. 17, 2023.
The Pensacola prison is described as a “minimum security federal prison camp,” according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In 2009, Forbes listed FPC Pensacola as the second “cushiest” prison in America.
According to Forbes, FPC Pensacola’s proximity to NAS Pensacola is a rare and desirable feature for inmates due to having access to better jobs and recreational activities. The Tallahassee Democrat reported last year that it had 350 male prisoners.
As for Julie Chrisley, she was originally set to serve her time at the Federal Correctional Institute Marianna SCP in Jackson County, which is two hours away from FPC Pensacola. However, the matriarch was moved to the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky.
It is not clear why she was instead rerouted to the Kentucky facility, with officials telling news outlet Insider that they could not share any information behind the switch.
Why are Julie and Todd Chrisley, reality TV stars, in prison?
Todd and Julie Chrisley were found guilty of committing tax evasion and defrauding community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans in June 2022. Julie Chrisley was additionally convicted of obstruction of justice and wire fraud.
The couple was first sentenced to 12 and seven years in prison, respectively, in November of 2022. In addition to their prison sentences, they each received an order of 16 months probation from U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross in Atlanta, news outlets reported.
When will Todd and Julie Chrisley get out of prison?
A June 11, 2024, online check shows Todd Chrisley will be released on Nov. 23, 2032, two years sooner than his original sentence. Julie Chrisley’s sentence was reduced by 14 months and will be released on Aug. 20, 2028.
What happened to the Chrisleys’ appeal?
In April 2024, a panel of the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta heard arguments from the Chrisleys’ attorney to decide whether they could be entitled to a new trial.
According to Courthouse News Service, the television stars claim a Georgia federal judge unfairly failed to hold a hearing on their allegation that “an Internal Revenue Service officer lied on the witness stand about how much money the defendants owed the IRS at the time of their trial.”
Attorney Alex Little of Burr & Forman argued prosecutors knew the defendants did not owe the IRS at the time of the trial; however, they told IRS revenue officer Betty Carter to base her testimony on the agency’s Employee User Portal, which showed that the couple still owed taxes for several years.
“The IRS didn’t know what it was doing,” Little said. “The left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing.”
In a rebuttal presented by U.S. assistant attorney Annalise Peters, she said there is “no evidence whatsoever.” While government has admitted that certain records admitted at trial did not accurately reflect some of the tax payments made by the Chrisleys, she said the government was unaware of the inaccuracies until after the trial ended.
“Whether or not any taxes were owed at the time of the trial was immaterial to any element to any charge in this case,” Peters said.
A final ruling has not been made and the judges did not indicate when they would rule on the case. According to WSB-TV 2, it can take up to a year to receive a ruling.
On her podcast, the couple’s daughter Savannah Chrisley shared details of her parents’ reaction to the arguments from behind bars.
“They listened in on the appeal, they listened to the arguments and now they’re back, just sitting there and hoping for change, hoping for something different, hoping for a different outcome,” she said to listeners.
