Why were Julie and Todd Chrisley sentenced? Charges explored as the latter reportedly loses prison job

Todd Chrisley, star of Chrisley Knows Best, is serving time at a federal prison in Florida for tax evasion and bank fraud alongside his wife Julie, and has been relieved of his duties at the prison chapel. The news was broken by his lawyer, Jay Surgent, who shared that Todd had been assisting a chaplain at FPC Pensacola in coordinating religious services.

However, prison authorities have now removed him from that position. On October 24, his lawyer, Jay Surgent told People Magazine that the reason for his dismissal was that he was allegedly interacting with inmates who are a part of the jail’s Residential Drug Abuse Program. The lawyer also stated that after his dismissal, Todd has now given up access to his small office in the chapel, as he stated:

“Todd Chrisley has been very disappointed and upset that he can no longer participate in the administration of the set-up for religious services at Pensacola, which includes Christian, Jewish, and Muslim services."

Surgent also mentioned that Chrisley reacted to the news by stating that he had been dismissed “without cause,” however, the decision of the authorities "has not affected his firm belief that in the end, God will work things out for him, Julie, and his family."

Todd Chrisley and his wife, Julie Chrisley were indicted in 2019 and sentenced to 12 years in prison after they were found guilty on 12 counts, including conspiracy to defraud the country, and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

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Todd Chrisley and his wife, Julie Chrisley began their prison sentences in January, 2023

As Todd Chrisley and his wife, Julie were arrested for multiple charges, they were first sentenced to 12 years in prison, which was later reduced to seven years, in September 2023, after they began their prison time in January 2023.

However, things became tough for the couple in September 2024, when a judge reviewed the case and concluded that the original punishment was appropriate, resentencing Julie Chrisley to the same 84 months in prison.

Talking about their charges, People Magazine reported that they were accused of evading close to $2 million in taxes between 2008 and 2016. The complaint against the couple also stated that they used their production company to conceal $1 million and showed many false assets. Their trial finally began in May 2022 and lasted for three weeks.

The couple is currently serving their sentence in different federal prisons, as Todd had been taken to the Federal Correctional Institution (FPI) Pensacola in Florida, while his wife was taken to the federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky. Julie was later shifted to Florida's Federal Correctional Institution Marianna.

Furthermore, talking about the recent incidence of Todd Chrisley being fired from his prison job, a source close to the Federal Bureau of Prison spoke to TMZ and clarified:

“For privacy reasons, we do not comment on the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual, including their work detail assignments.”

Todd and Julie are best known for their reality show, Chrisley Knows Best, which shows the couple with their five kids, Lindsie, Kyle, Chaise, Savannah and Grayson. Having started in 2014, the show ran till 2023, as it was also followed up by another series, Growing Up Chrisley, which followed the lives of the kids as they grew up.