Todd and Julie Chrisley Awarded $1M Settlement by Georgia, Court Records Reveal
Todd and Julie Chrisley, imprisoned reality TV stars, will receive a $1M settlement from Georgia, ending their civil lawsuit against Joshua Waites, the former Director of Special Investigations for Georgia’s Department of Revenue, court documents reveal
Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were imprisoned, will be awarded a $1,000,000 settlement from the state of Georgia. This brings an end to their civil lawsuit against Joshua Waites, the former Director of Special Investigations for Georgia's Department of Revenue, as stated in court filings.
After the settlement announcement, CNN attempted to contact representatives for Waites and the Georgia Department of Revenue for comment.
The lawsuit filed in October 2019 accused Waites of improperly sharing the Chrisleys' confidential tax and other information with Todd Chrisley's estranged daughter, Lindsie Chrisley Campbell, in order to pressure her into revealing compromising information about her family, causing severe emotional distress, anxiety, and mental anguish for the Chrisleys.
Waites conducted an investigation into the Chrisleys' tax responsibilities in Georgia before the couple faced charges of tax evasion. The state case was resolved in October 2019, with the Chrisleys reportedly paying just under $150,000, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The latest settlement, filed on Tuesday, stipulates that the Georgia Department of Administrative Services is to issue two checks totaling $1,000,000 to the couple's counsel within thirty days of the agreement.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Alex Little, the attorney for the Chrisleys, described the settlement with the state as "an encouraging indication." "For months, we've been arguing that the criminal case against the Chrisleys was extremely unusual and riddled with significant issues. It's almost unheard of for one branch of the government to compensate defendants when another branch is actively trying to keep them incarcerated."
The reality TV stars, the Chrisleys, from "Chrisley Knows Best" were convicted in June 2022 of conspiring to fraudulently obtain over $30 million in loans from banks, as well as committing various tax crimes.
Despite their convictions, the Chrisleys claim innocence and are appealing the decision. The case is set to be heard by the federal appeals court in Atlanta in April, according to Little.
Todd Chrisley is currently imprisoned at a Federal Prison Camp (FPC) in Florida for a 12-year sentence, while Julie Chrisley is serving her seven-year sentence at a Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Lexington, Kentucky.
