Todd and Julie Chrisley won big time in court on January 9th. A win their lawyers say makes them optimistic for their appeal case.
According to People, Todd and Julie were awarded a $1 million settlement from the state of Georgia. The settlement is the result of a lawsuit against the former director of the Department of Revenue’s special investigations unit for mishandling the tax evasion case against them.
In 2019, Todd and Julie sued Joshua Waites claiming they were “unfairly targeted” with the tax evasion charge. The Chrisleys alleged that Waites targeted the family and shared confidential tax information.
“Ultimately, Waites’s efforts failed, but in the process, the Chrisleys were forced to incur substantial personal and financial hardship,” their attorney Michael J. Bowers wrote in the lawsuit.
The Chrisley’s current legal team called the settlement “an encouraging sign” as their appeal process continues.
UPDATE: For the first time since entering his prison cell, Todd Chrisley is speaking out.
While Todd’s daughter, Savannah, has used her podcast over the last year to keep their fans apprised of how he is handling prison, Todd has spoken for himself in a phone interview with Chris Cuomo.
While talking with Cuomo, Todd said he is being “mistreated” by prison staff and believes it’s their way of “trying to humble him.”
He goes on to say that the food they are served is “dated. It’s a year past expiration.” In fact, he claims the staff is “literally starving” inmates by giving them “disgustingly filthy” food that’s reportedly been contaminated by rats and squirrels.
“You’ve got rats, you’ve got squirrels in the storage facility where the food is. They just covered it up with plastic and then tore the ceiling out because of all the black mold and found a dead cat in the ceiling, and it dropped down on the top of the food.”
Todd continues, revealing that he avoids the prison food by purchasing outside food with the money he makes from the jobs he holds in prison. However, Todd says staff as now been “cutting down” on the amount of food he can purchase each week.
“I eat tuna, I eat peanut butter—that’s where I get protein. And then I start over again doing the same thing the next week.”
Todd also addresses claims made by Savannah. In past podcast episodes, Savannah claimed pictures were being taken of Todd in prison without his consent.
“There was a photograph taken of me while I was sleeping and sent to my daughter,” Todd told Cuomo, adding that the alleged extortionist asked “for $2,600 dollars a month for my protection.”
Despite her father going through a hard time in prison, Savannah Chrisley admits she hasn’t been to visit her parents in prison in weeks.
According to Savannah, between her new relationship, parenting her siblings, and needing some me time, she hasn’t had the time. As she explained in her podcast, “travel and holidays and school and work” have taken priority over visiting her parents.
“I have this layer of guilt that weights over me like, ‘Oh my gosh, you have to go see and them. Like, how selfish of you?’ I’m the angel on one side and devil on the other, of just this constant battle of feeling what I’m doing isn’t enough.”
Savannah Chrisley is giving an update on her parents’ time in prison.
Since surrendering at the start of the year, Savannah has used her podcast as a platform to advocate for their parents and share intimate details about their time in prison. Now, Savannah claims her advocacy is causing hardship for her parents, particularly her father, Todd Chrisley.
While speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Savannah admitted that “it’s been really tough [for them] since I started speaking out about everything. That’s been the toughest part. More so for Dad.”
Savannah goes as far as to say “There’s been a lot of retaliation, so we have to worry [about him].”
As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Todd’s longtime lawyer Jay Surgent shared a statement with TMZ alleging that Todd had been involved “in some odd occurrences while locked up at FPC Pensacola in Florida,” and he believes it’s because he’s so well known in the public.
According to Surgent, some of the odd occurrences include “someone allegedly taking his photo while he was sleeping.” And Todd claims that he hasn’t been receiving mail and believes it’s been getting destroyed.
In addition to the “odd occurrences,” Jay says Todd’s living conditions are less than ideal as well. He reveals that Todd is living with “bad plumbing, possible mold, and no A.C.” And Todd’s wife Julie is reportedly enduring a similar living environment.
On his own podcast, Savannah’s older brother and Todd and Julie’s son Chase claimed that “they got like black mold [where my dad is], and my mom’s place is even worse. I mean, she doesn’t even have air conditioning. They’re in a camp. It’s better than like being behind a wall.”
Savannah even went as far as to share several harsh criticisms on Instagram:
“When will it end,” Savannah captioned the letter along with a crying emoji.
“’Be careful… you’ll get your name in another one of those letters by Todd Chrisley.’ ‘Yea… for doing my job.’ – is stealing and profiting off theft your job? And this time… it’s not a letter… it’s your own voice admitting to committing these crimes. WOW!! God is working overtime! THIS IS A RECORDING OF GUARDS AT THE FEDERAL PRISON CAMP IN PENSACOLA FLORIDA WHERE MY DAD IS BEING HELD! If he gets transferred and abused it’s ONLY because we as a family are choosing to stand for what is right and out the abuse and corruption within our system,” Savannah claimed.
As Savannah writes in her caption, she is reportedly receiving these letters and records from “whistleblowers.”
“Just another letter we received from a whistleblower! WHEN WILL IT STOP! Is this really what all 122 institutions in the BOP look like? Since when is it ok to employ the corrupt to govern over who the DOJ makes society think is corrupt? Our system of Justice is a JOKE. And where is the Navy in all of this? Why are they allowing these conditions to exist? These men are literally confined in a death trap. What’s next? UNBELIEVABLE.”
None of Savannah’s claims have been confirmed. The FCP has not responded to her claims either.
Despite Savannah and her family’s claims, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ online inmate search system, Todd and Julie have since received lesser sentences.
Todd was originally set to be released from prison in late 2034 and now he is set to be released on January 22, 2033. And Julie was set to be released in 2030, but will now be released 14 months early on October 19, 2028.
Mamas Uncut is THE online place for moms. We cover the latest about motherhood, parenting, and entertainment as well – all with a mom-focused twist. So if you're looking for parenting advice from real parents, we have plenty of it, all for moms from moms, and also experts. Because, at the end of the day, our mission is focused solely on empowering moms and moms-to-be with the knowledge and answers they’re looking for in one safe space.