Todd and Julie Chrisley have scored a major win in their legal battle against their current prison sentences. The Chrisleys have been awarded a $1 million settlement regarding their lawsuit in which they alleged misconduct in the investigation against them.
People Magazine reported that a lawyer for the couple announced the settlement. They will recieve $1 million from the state of Georgia to resolve their federal lawsuit against Joshua Waites. Waites is the former Director of Special Investigations of the State Department of Revenue. The lawsuit was first filed in 2019.
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The family lawyer, Alex Little, made a public statement following the announcement of the settlement. He said, “We have been saying for months that the criminal case against the Chrisleys was highly unusual and had real problems.” He went on to add that “this settlement is an encouraging sign.”
The statement continued, “It’s nearly unprecedented for one arm of the government to pay money to defendants while another arm is fighting to keep them in jail.”
Todd and Julie Took Legal Action Following The Investigation
The investigation into the Chrisleys lasted two years. The investigation cleared the couple of a $2 million state tax evasion charge.
The Chrisley Knows Best stars had been investigated for tax irregularities between 2008 and 2016. People reported that the Georgia Department of Revenue had agreed that they had overpaid in four of those years. According to a press release obtained by People, the couple owed nothing for the other four years. They had a net liability of less than $77,000 in overdue taxes for just one year of incorrect filing.
Todd said in a statement at the time, “Julie and I knew all along that we had done nothing wrong and that when the facts all came out, we would be fine.”
About a week after they were cleared of the charge, Todd and Julie took legal action against Joshua Waites. According to People, they claimed that the former director had been “specifically targeting” the celebrity family. According to the lawsuit, Todd and Julie’s first lawyer had some strong words for the initial charges filed against them. He said they were “a shocking example of how an out-of-control public servant can abuse his office and violate the rights of innocent citizens.”
The lawsuit also claimed that the director allegedly “began to focus his efforts and desire” on the Chrisley family, particularly Todd and his estranged daughter Lindsie. Todd and Julie accused him of targeting the 34-year-old Lindsie in an attempt to get information about the family. The lawsuit also alleged that when Lindsie failed to give him information, he showed her her parents’ private tax information.
Todd and Julie are both still serving their respective prison sentences. As of now, Todd still has another 9 years of his sentence to serve, while Julie still has 4.
