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The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, consisting of three judges, reversed the Chrisley Knows Best alum's seven-year prison sentence for tax evasion and bank fraud in Kentucky on June 21. The decision concluded that the judge in the 2022 trial had incorrectly calculated Julie's sentence.
According to court documents obtained by E! News, the panel found insufficient evidence to uphold the conclusion that Julie was complicit in the totality of the bank fraud plan, even though they upheld the convictions of Julie, Todd Chrisley, and their accountant Peter Tarantino. Rather, the judges decided that there wasn't enough evidence to demonstrate that she was a part of the 2006–2007 plan before 2007.
"The district court did not identify the evidence it relied on to hold Julie accountable for losses incurred before 2007, and we cannot independently find it in the record," the judges wrote in their decision. "So we vacate Julie's sentence and remand solely for the district court to make the factual findings and calculations necessary to determine loss, restitution, and forfeiture as to Julie and to resentence her accordingly."
The Chrisleys' legal team was contacted by E! News for comment, but they have not responded as of yet.
A lower court will now hear Julie's case to decide how to modify her sentence in light of the recent verdict. There has been no change to Todd's 12-year sentence, which was shortened to 10 years in September.
The family's lawyer, Alex Little, told People following the case's modification, "We're pleased that the Court agreed that Julie's sentence was improper, but we're obviously disappointed that it rejected Todd's appeal." He then added, seemingly alluding to the misconduct case the couple had won earlier this year, "With this step behind us, we can now challenge the couple's convictions based on the illegal search that started the case." "The family is grateful for the ongoing assistance they have had during this procedure. They also expect that there will be more positive news in the future.
The Georgia judges have ruled in favor of former special investigator Joshua Waites, who was found guilty of misconduct in handling an investigation into reality TV star Chrisley Chrisley. The ruling comes six months after the couple received a $1 million settlement from Georgia after suing Waites for misconduct. The OIG's report in September 2021 supported Todd's claim that he was unfairly targeted for investigation due to his celebrity status. The OIG found photos of Joshua posing on Chrisley's seized furniture and messages bragging about it. Despite the allegations, Todd and Julie were found guilty on 12 counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Their sentences were shortened in September, with Julie's sentence dropping to five and Todd's to 10.
