This was a big win for the Chrisley family, but it was bittersweet.
Julie Chrisley will get a new sentence on the tax evasion and bank fraud charges that landed her behind bars last year.
Julie Chrisley could be out of jail sooner than anyone expected.
The 51-year-old will get a new sentence for her participation in the tax evasion and bank fraud case that also found her husband Todd Chrisley guilty.
Julie was handed a lucky update in court this week.
The mother of three was originally serving seven years behind bars while Todd was sentenced to 12.
Her sentence has just been vacated by a panel of three judges of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
They ruled that the original judge in the case miscalculated Julie’s original sentence.
According to People, the judges determined that she had been sentenced as though she participated in bank fraud scheme from its reported inception in 2006, but there was no evidence tying Julie to the crime before 2007.
They wrote in their ruling, “The problem is that we have not located the evidence the district court relied on in adopting that finding.”
“Our review of the record hasn’t revealed evidence to show, even by a preponderance of the evidence, that [Julie] was involved in 2006,” the judges continued. “Indeed, the government’s brief concedes that the evidence shows Julie ‘participated in the bank fraud conspiracy from 2007,’ not 2006.”
A lower court will determine how to handle the new sentence.
The family’s attorney gave a statement after the announcement.
“We’re pleased that the Court agreed that Julie’s sentence was improper, but we’re obviously disappointed that it rejected Todd’s appeal,” shared Alex Little.
The lawyer added, “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.”
Savannah Chrisley also gave an update after the announcement.
“After careful consideration, and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm the district court on all issues except for the loss amount attributed to Julie,” wrote the 26-year-old in her Instagram caption.
The reality TV daughter has previously opened up about the appeal process on her Unlocked podcast.
She stated in a recent episode, “They listened in on the appeal, they listened to the arguments and now they’re back, just sitting there and hoping for change, hoping for something different, hoping for a different outcome.”
According to an update from People, Todd and Julie’s lawyer claimed that there was misconduct in their original trial, arguing that “the evidence suggested that the prosecutors here worked in concert with the witness.”
“First, the issue that was discussed that came out in the redirect and then the re-cross of Officer Betty Carter was whether the Chrisleys had paid taxes in the post-conspiracy period,” he claimed. “Now, the district court below confirmed that that would have a potential prejudicial effect on the defendants leading the jury to believe that they had not paid their taxes, that they weren’t interested in paying taxes, that they were untruth type of person who could commit fraud charged in the other acts. That effect spills over not just to the tax charges but to all of the fraud charges in this case.”
Unfortunately for the Chrisleys, the assistant U.S. attorney on the case argued that this was invalid.
“The evidence was overwhelming at trial that the Chrisleys had taken a number of steps to evade the IRS and they conspired to evade the IRS,” she claimed in court, according to People.
“So yes, if there are credible allegations and some evidence proffered about any sort of government misconduct a hearing should be had. That’s simply not what we have in this case.”
Savannah has previously shared that even if this appeal doesn’t play out the way they hope, the family has backup plans.
“If it doesn’t go in our direction, we have other avenues to take,” she recently shared on her podcast, Unlocked.
