When the Chrisley family burst onto the fact scene in 2014 with USA Network’s “Chrisley Knows Best” they were the Southern-blond answer to the Kardashians: wealthy and intensely tight knit, with a dollop of “bless your heart” attitude.
In an early promo for the show, Todd Chrisley, the flamboyant, controlling-but-endearing patriarch bragged concerning the money he supposedly made in real estate. He was quick to notice that his family — wife Julie and their three children, Chase, Savannah and Grayson, now ages 26, 25 and 16 respectively, together with Todd’s children from an earlier marriage, Lindsie, now 33, and Kyle, 31 — lived in a gated community outside of Atlanta. They were neighbors with former Braves great Chipper Jones and singer Usher, Chrisley boasted, and the fam dropped a cool $300,000 a yr on clothing alone.
“I attempt to keep all the pieces so as and in line. I even have a certain level of expectations for my children, for my wife, for myself,” Chrisley, now 53, said within the promo.
However the family’s wealthy facade all got here crumbling down last spring when Todd and Julie were found guilty of bank fraud and tax evasion in a sensational trial. Now the show’s over: On Tuesday, Todd and Julie will report back to prison, where he’s been sentenced for 12 years and he or she to seven.
“The Chrisleys have built an empire based on the lie that their wealth got here from dedication and exertions,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum on Nov. 16.
“The jury’s unanimous verdict sets the record straight: Todd and Julie Chrisley are profession swindlers who’ve made a living by jumping from one fraud scheme to a different, lying to banks, stiffing vendors, and evading taxes at every corner.”
The couple had humble, healthful beginnings. They each hail from rural Westminster, South Carolina, a once-thriving textile town that as of 2021 had a population of around 2363.
Their money troubles return years, before they even had a reality show. In 2012, Chrisley filed for Chapter 7, listing $4.2 million in assets and $49.4 million in debt. On the time, he claimed to have only $55 in a checking account and $100 in money.
“He guaranteed an actual estate development loan and it failed,” his attorney Robert Furr explained to People in 2014. “He was on the hook for $30 million. If he hadn’t had that occur, he would have been nice, financially.”
Such money issues didn’t keep the family from reality stardom. By the tip of 2016, the Chrisley’s show was already in its fourth season and the clan’s profile was on the rise — a lot in order that security concerns led them to relocate to Nashville.
There, they bought two mansions value roughly a combined $9 million and continued to drive flashy cars while their kids became podcasters and Instagram influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers.
Amid his success, Chrisley offered to donate money in 2016 and construct an aquatic center in his hometown of Westminster with one condition: It needed to be named for his late father Gene Chrisley.
But what looked like a generous gesture from a hometown boy-made-good quickly devolved into an unpleasant conflict that divided the locale and showcased Todd’s uncanny ability to whip up drama even when the cameras weren’t rolling.
“Most doubted the offer was sincere, however the [town] council remained open in learning more,” former town administrator Chris Carter told The Post.
When the project stalled, Todd took to Facebook blasting detractors, a few of whom were private residents of Westminster. He bragged about his show’s rankings and flashed their Facebook profiles across the screen, urging his own followers to confront them online.
“Facebook brought out the trolls who posted pretty negative things concerning the town due to city’s perceived reticence to take Chrisley [up] on the offer. A number of them, I understand, didn’t even live within the Westminster area — the show’s groupies I suppose,” said Carter.
He added that Todd then created a further stipulation for his donation: that the town’s council, apart from one woman, resign.
“Most peple felt like within the town they were being played and it turned out they were. Apart from for the show drama of it, there was nothing substantive ever talked about. It was all to gin up animosity and division,” continued Carter.
In the long run, no money was donated and no pool was built. Just a few locals said the saga, which was covered within the local press, was just one other chapter within the ostensibly fabulous lifetime of the self-styled mogul.
“He’s all hat and no cattle,” quipped one local. (Chrisley didn’t reply to a request for comment on the matter.)
Meanwhile, the family’s personal dramas were making for good TV.
While it often focused on lighthearted family conflict comparable to sibling rivalry, Savannah’s pageants and household pranks, “Chrisley Knows Best” didn’t draw back from serious issues. Kyle struggled with drug addiction and mental health, a lot in order that Todd and Julie legally adopted his daughter Chloe, now 10, when she was a toddler.
In 2019, Savannah and Chase launched their very own spinoff, “Growing Up Chrisley.” It will go on to run for 4 seasons — until Todd and Julie were convicted, at which point each it and “Chrisley Knows Best” were abruptly canceled.
The trial also took an ax to Todd’s status of being a faithful family man. His former business partner Mark Braddock testified that he and Todd were intimate for a few yr within the early 2000s.
Chrisley has denied the claims.
“What insulted me essentially the most is that, out of all these 54 years, for me to finally be accused of being with a person, it might be someone who looked like Mark Braddock,” Todd said on a recent episode of his podcast “Chrisley Confessions.” He added that Braddock resembled a “toad.”
The Chrisleys are only the newest reality show stars to face federal charges. In 2014, “Real Housewives of Recent Jersey” stars Teresa and Joe Giudice each pleaded guilty to several counts including bankruptcy fraud, conspiracy to commit each mail fraud wire fraud in addition to failing to pay taxes.
Earlier this month, “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah was sentenced to six-and-a-half-years in prison for heading a years-long telemarketing scam that targeted elderly Americans.
But, the Chrisleys are maintaining their innocence.
“As a family, we’re still united and standing firm in our positions and in our faith. We don’t waiver in our faith,” the patriarch said on the podcast. “Now listen. Are we disillusioned? Are we hurt? Yes, but we all know that God has a purpose for all the pieces.”