Feds Move to Seize Todd & Julie Chrisley’s Recent $1 Million Settlement Win
The Chrisleys are set for an early prison release.
Feb. 6 2024, Published 1:30 p.m. ET
The federal government demanded it be allowed to seize the $1 million settlement Todd and Julie Chrisley recently received — to help pay off the $17 million the couple currently owes in restitution.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, the feds said they recently became aware of Todd and Julie’s 7-figure payout.
The government said it believes the settlement funds to be held by Chrisley’s lawyer’s firm.
Earlier this year, Todd and Julie announced they received a $1 million settlement from the state of Georgia.
He said Todd Chrisley advised him "to leave" their home "for his 'safety.'"
However, lawyers for the couple said they had not received any of the money personally.
Their lawyer noted, "This money did not go directly to either Todd or Julie, however, and neither of them have received any funds from the settlement. But numerous debts they previously owed, including some reflected in the pre-sentencing financial disclosures, were paid in whole or in part. Given that these payments resolve some of their debt, and therefore change their “economic circumstances” in “material” ways, the Defendants believed it prudent to notify the Court and the United States Attorney in accordance with the Judgment."
The judge has yet to rule on the government's motion.
The settlement was awarded in the lawsuit brought by the reality stars against the former director of the Department of Revenue’s special investigations unit, Joshua Waites.
The lawsuit, filed in 2019, claimed they were unfairly targeted by Joshua as part of a tax evasion case.
Todd and Julie claimed Joshua tried to get information from their estranged daughter Lindsie.
We're told Todd is focused and "optimistic" that he will go home sooner than expected.
"Ultimately, [Joshua’s] efforts failed, but in the process, the Chrisleys were forced to incur substantial personal and financial hardship," the couple’s former attorney Michael J. Bowers wrote in the complaint.
The couple sued Joshua after being cleared of their state tax evasion charge.
“We have been saying for months that the criminal case against the Chrisleys was highly unusual and had real problems,” the couple’s new attorney Alex Little of Burr & Forman LLP, said about the recent decision. “This settlement is an encouraging sign.”
He added, “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.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, while the couple was cleared on the state tax evasion charge, they were indicted by a federal grand jury in 2019 for bank and wire fraud, tax evasion, and other counts.
Todd and Julie denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
In November 2022, the duo was convicted by a federal jury. Todd was sent to the Federal Prison Camp in Florida. He is scheduled to be released on January 22, 2033.
Julie has been serving her time at the Federal Medical Center Lexington in Kentucky. She will be released on October 19, 2028.
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As part of their criminal cases, the couple were ordered to pay $17 million in restitution to eight banks.
The couple are currently appealing their sentences.