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Savannah Chrisley says despite dad Todd Chrisley‘s appeal being rejected, he’s more focused on his wife, Julie Chrisley, having her sentence thrown out and possibly being released from prison.
In the latest episode of her Unlocked podcast, the 26-year-old Chrisley Knows Best star said her dad is “fine” after federal appeals judges ruled last month that his and their accountant, Peter Tarantino’s, prison sentences will remain upheld. She added that the 55-year-old Chrisley patriarch is more concerned with the decision that 51-year-old Julie’s case will be sent back to the lower court for a resentencing.
“He was crying, like, happy tears knowing that mom could be home. That’s the only thing he cares about right now is getting her home,” Savannah told her podcast listeners.
In documents obtained by ET, a legal error was found in how the trial judge calculated Julie’s sentencing as it held her accountable for the entire bank fraud scheme. The appellate panel sent her case back to the lower court for a resentencing.
“But we must vacate Julie’s sentence so the district court can address the narrow issue of what the proper loss amount attributable to Julie is for purposes of the base offense level, restitution, and forfeiture,” the document states. “The district court should make factual findings about when Julie’s involvement in the conspiracy began, and if it concludes Julie’s involvement started in 2006, it should identify the evidence on which it bases its finding. In vacating and remanding on this issue, we express no opinion as to what the correct loss amount should be.”
Julie, who reported to prison in January 2023, is currently serving a reduced five-year sentence in Lexington, Kentucky.
After news broke of her resentencing, Alex Little, Todd and Julie’s attorney, told ET in a statement, ”We’re pleased that the Court agreed that Julie’s sentence was improper, but we’re obviously disappointed that it rejected Todd’s appeal. With this step behind us, we can now challenge the couple’s convictions based on the illegal search that started the case. The family appreciates the continued support they’ve received throughout this process. And they’re hopeful for more good news in the future.”
“Mom obviously was heartbroken for dad, but hopefully she can come home and then she can go visit him, and that will be a game changer, I think, for his overall mental health and well-being and for hers too,” Savannah said. “So I’m hoping that happens, but it was crazy.”
The reality star said she hopes there will be more news to share within the next 90 days. And, if all goes well, Savannah hopes her mom will be released from prison by Thanksgiving Day.
“So, now we sit and wait. Hopefully no more than 90 days to go for that hearing and hopefully she comes home,” Savannah said.
She later added, “I’m making it my goal that by Thanksgiving she’s home.”
“I’m in this place of wanting to rejoice but at the same time, I don’t want to get my hopes up, and I tend to do that a lot,” Savannah added.
If Julie is released, Savannah says that’ll free her up to focus on her father, who is serving his reduced 10-year prison sentence in Pensacola, Florida.
In the meantime, Savannah’s already planning on how she’ll help her mom reacclimate if she’s released from prison sooner rather than later.
“It is gonna be challenging for her to come home and there’s going to be lots of therapy involved … anything I can do to help her get in the best space she could possibly ever be that’s what I’m gonna do … just getting her on the right track because I can only imagine how she’s gonna feel coming home, and it’s going to be overwhelming,” said Savannah, who also envisioned how she’ll break the news about Julie’s prison release to her 18-year-old brother, Grayson, and 11-year-old sister, Chloe. “And when I get the call that she can come home I honestly don’t think I’m gonna tell anyone. I’m probably just going to go and get her, bring her home, let her get settled and then let Chloe and Grayson walk into the room and not know that she’s there.”
In August 2019, Todd and Julie were indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, five counts of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of tax fraud. Julie was also charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. They were also ordered to pay $17.8 million in restitution
In June 2022, after a three-week trial, Julie and Todd were each found guilty on all counts. The pair was sentenced to a combined 19-years in federal prison. They reported to prison in January 2023.
As for Peter, the accountant is serving his sentence at a facility in Montgomery, Alabama, and is to be released August of next year.
Julie and Todd had a minor victory in January, as they received $1 million in their 2019 federal lawsuit against Joshua Waites for alleged misconduct in his investigation of them.
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