Why have Todd and Julie Chrisley been sent to prison and what are their sentences?

The stars of Chrisley Knows Best will serve a combined 19 years behind bars

Todd and Julie Chrisley will face 19 years in prison
(Image credit: Michael Tran/FilmMagic)

Todd and Julie Chrisley will be swapping their reality series for the harsh reality of life behind bars, as the famous couple have been sent down for a total of 19 years between them.

The matriarch and patriarch of the Chrisley family, the subject of the long-running Chrisley Knows Best, were sentenced yesterday (November 21).

Chrisley Knows Best, which aired for nine seasons airing on USA Network before moving to E!, followed Todd and Julie and their family. It inspired the spin-off show Growing Up Chrisley, which focused on their children Chase and Savannah.

Chrisley Knows Best was canceled as a result

(Image credit: Tommy Garcia/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

After the verdict came in for Todd and Julie, both shows were canceled by their networks, it’s been reported by Deadline.  

Todd was also set to host a dating show titled Love Limo, but that has been canceled as well.

Who are the Chrisleys and why have they been sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison?

Who are the Chrisleys?

Michael Todd Chrisley, who simply goes by Todd,  made his fortune as a real-estate tycoon.

Throughout Chrisley Knows Best, he was shown as a controlling, easily irritated, and often unreasonable patriarch.

Todd was born in Georgia and raised in Westminster, South Carolina. He has two children with his ex-wife Teresa and three children with Julie.

Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison

(Image credit: USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Julie Chrisley is from South Carolina and is the daughter of a Baptist minister. She married Todd in 1996, and the pair share their three children, Chase, Savannah, and Grayson.

Julie became a favorite on the series and also starred in What’s Cooking with Julie Chrisley, a web series launched on USA Network's website.

Chrisley Knows Best became a huge success for the USA Network, with audiences peaking at over 2.2 million at one point.

Julie Chrisley will face seven years in prison

(Image credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CMT)

What have Todd and Julie Chrisley been charged with?

Todd was sentenced to 12 years and Julie was sentenced to seven years in prison after they were found guilty in a $30million tax fraud case.

The saga was all caught on camera.

In August 2019, during the seventh season of their reality series, the pair were shown being indicted by the Georgia Department of Revenue on multiple tax evasion and bank fraud charges.

They turned themselves in that same month and were released on a $100,000 bond.

Despite the impeding case, the show was renewed for an eighth season. The couple subsequently settled their case with the Georgia Department of Revenue but faced multiple federal charges including tax evasion.

They were found guilty on a federal level, accused of taking out $30 million in fraudulent loans.

Prosecutors also accused the couple of using the money to fund their lifestyle, even before they had become reality stars. Todd and Julie were also suspected to have used a production company to hide income from the IRS, lawyers argued.

Who is Mark Braddock and how is he involved?

Things got even more dramatic for the couple thanks to one of the witnesses who testified against them – Mark Braddock.

Todd Chrisley's former employee Mark Braddock revealed that he was more than an ex colleague, he had actually indulged in a a year-long gay affair with Todd in the early 2000s - while they were both married to their respective wives.

He told the jury that not only had be been witness to the Chrisleys' crimes, he actually helped commit them.

He was, however, granted immunity in return for testifying.

Jack Slater
Freelance writer

Jack Slater is not the Last Action Hero, but that's what comes up first when you Google him. Preferring a much more sedentary life, Jack gets his thrills by covering news, entertainment, celebrity, film and culture for woman&home, and other digital publications.

Having written for various print and online publications—ranging from national syndicates to niche magazines—Jack has written about nearly everything there is to write about, covering LGBTQ+ news, celebrity features, TV and film scoops, reviewing the latest theatre shows lighting up London’s West End and the most pressing of SEO based stories.