Though Todd and Julie Chrisley are still in prison after being convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud, their attorney believes that the recent $1 million settlement they are receiving is "an encouraging sign." The Chrisley Knows Best alums are receiving $1 million from the state of Georgia in their lawsuit against Joshua Waites, the former Director of Special Investigations of the state’s Department of Revenue. They accused Waites of "aggressively [pursuing] and [prosecuting] bogus tax evasion claims against the Chrisleys."
Todd and Julie claimed that Waites began seeking information about them via their estranged daughter Lindsie Chrisley, 34. He allegedly attempted to get her "to reveal compromising information about her family" and shared the Chrisleys' personal tax information with Lindsie and other people.
The lawsuit alleged that the case functioned as "a shocking example of how an out-of-control public servant can abuse his office and violate the rights of innocent citizens for reasons that have more to do with securing publicity and money for his office than with enforcing the law."
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The lawsuit also stated that although Waites was not successful when he allegedly targeted the Chrisley family and tried to get information from Lindsie, "the Chrisleys were forced to incur substantial personal and financial hardship."
“We have been saying for months that the criminal case against the Chrisleys was highly unusual and had real problems,” Todd and Julie's lawyer said in a statement shared with People. "This settlement is an encouraging sign.”
“It’s nearly unprecedented for one arm of the government to pay money to defendants when another arm is fighting to keep them in jail," the statement continued.
Todd and Julie previously settled their case with the Georgia Department of Revenue in 2019. The Chrisleys agreed to pay a bit less than $150,000 to settle the tax evasion allegations.
They filed their lawsuit against Waites shortly after settling that lawsuit.
They were found guilty of bank fraud and tax evasion in federal court in 2022. Prosecutors claimed that the couple did not disclose their earnings from their reality show to the IRS but also "flaunted their wealth and lifestyle to the American public," Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
Todd was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Julie was sentenced to seven years. Their sentences were reduced in September 2023 to about 10 years and five years, respectively.
