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USA Today
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Who are Todd and Julie Chrisley? Reality TV couple to be pardoned by Trump
Who are Todd and Julie Chrisley? Reality TV couple to be pardoned by Trump Show Caption Hide Caption Savannah Chrisley goes to White House Reality TV star Savannah Chrisley went to the White House to discuss freeing her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley, who are in prison for tax evasion. Fox - 5 Atlanta President Donald Trump said he will be issuing pardons for Todd and Julie Chrisley, the reality TV couple found guilty of bank fraud in 2022. In a video posted to X Tuesday, May 27 by special assistant and communications advisor Margo Martin, Trump said he would be pardoning the couple. "President Trump calls @_ItsSavannah_ to inform her that he will be granting full pardons to her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley! Trump Knows Best!" the post said. The pardon comes as a win for the Chrisley family. In February, their daughter Savannah, who also spoke at the Republican National Convention in July 2024, told People Magazine that she was diligently working to secure her parents' release. "I know that I am going through the proper channels to do so, and I'm going to bring as much awareness to it as possible because these things should not happen," she told the outlet. Who are Todd and Julie Chrisley? The Chrisley family rose to fame on their USA Network reality show "Chrisley Knows Best," which chronicled their opulent lifestyle and family business in Atlanta and Nashville with their complicated family dynamics, which included estrangements with their two eldest children, Kyle and Lindsie Chrisley. The show drew in more than 2 million viewers by its eighth season and inspired spinoffs such as "Growing Up Chrisley" and "According to Chrisley." Why did Todd and Julie Chrisley go to prison? Following the success of their show, Todd and Julie Chrisley were found guilty in 2022 of defrauding community banks of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans as well as tax evasion. Julie Chrisley was additionally convicted of obstruction of justice and wire fraud. Five months later, Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Julie Chrisley received a seven-year sentence. They began their respective sentences in January 2023. Contributing: Jay Stahl, Jennifer Sangalang and KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY. Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
USA Today
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Reality stars' prison release dates, from Julie and Todd Chrisley to a 'Housewives' star
Reality stars' prison release dates, from Julie and Todd Chrisley to a 'Housewives' star Show Caption Hide Caption 911 call of Chase Chrisley at Twin Peaks in Buckhead The son of former reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley has found himself in some legal trouble. He's accused of assaulting a bar manager at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Buckhead. Fox - 5 Atlanta A reality television to prison pipeline? It's more common than you might think. From "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Jen Shah's involvement in a telemarketing scheme to the "Chrisley Knows Best" stars charges on tax evasion and bank fraud, plenty of personalities have gone from TV screens to behind bars. In at least one case, the plea for their release has reached the highest office in the land: Savannah Chrisley, daughter of disgraced reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, has appealed to President Donald Trump's administration for their pardon. Savannah, 27, spoke at the Republican National Convention in July 2025. As of May 12, 2025, the Chrisleys are still in their respective prisons. Who are the other reality stars who are serving time in prison? Here's a closer look. From Netflix to prison. 'Cheer' star Jerry Harris sentenced to 12 years for sex crimes Julie and Todd Chrisley from 'Chrisley Knows Best' It's been more than two years since Julie and Todd Chrisley began their prison sentences for bank fraud. But instead of the respective seven- and 12-year sentences, each has had their prison time slightly reduced. The Chrisleys gained fame on the USA Network reality show "Chrisley Knows Best," which followed their tight-knit, boisterous family and lavish lifestyle in Atlanta and Nashville. The show drew in more than 2 million viewers by its eighth season and inspired the spinoffs "Growing Up Chrisley" and "According to Chrisley." However, their image as savvy real estate tycoons was sullied in June 2022, when the pair was found guilty of tax evasion and defrauding community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans. In January 2023, the Chrisleys traded their luxurious lifestyle for prison time. Prosecutors said the reality TV couple was driven by greed as they engaged in an extensive bank fraud scheme and then hid their wealth from tax authorities. Julie Chrisley, 52, is serving her prison sentence at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, with an expected release date of Jan. 8, 2028. Todd Chrisley is serving time at FPC Pensacola and is expected to be released April 7, 2032, more than two years before his original 12-year sentence was supposed to be up. Brittish Williams of VH1's 'Basketball Wives' Former "Basketball Wives" star Brittish Cierrah Williams found herself in hot legal water last year when authorities apprehended her over a series of scams. On Oct. 24, 2023, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced Williams, 35, to four years in prison for committing $564,000 worth of frauds, including tax frauds, bank fraud, insurance fraud and three separate pandemic fraud schemes, according to a release from the US Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Missouri. Williams, then a radio personality in St. Louis, pleaded guilty to 15 felonies in May 2023. Williams will also be on supervised release for five years after serving time, and was ordered to pay $564,069 in restitution. She is now serving time at FCI Waseca, "a low security federal correctional institution" in Minnesota, with a release date of Dec. 24, 2025. Josh Duggar of TLC Network's '19 Kids and Counting' Josh Duggar, who rose to fame on TLC's hit show "19 Kids and Counting," was sentenced in May 2022 to 12 years in prison for downloading and possessing child pornography. The eldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and a father of seven himself, Josh Duggar was found guilty in December 2021. Federal authorities said they began investigating the reality TV star after a Little Rock, Arkansas, police detective found child porn files were being shared by a computer traced to Duggar. A federal agent testified that images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, were downloaded in 2019 onto a computer at a car dealership Duggar owned. This is not Josh Duggar's first fall from grace. "19 Kids and Counting," was canceled in 2015 following revelations that Josh Duggar had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter when he was a teen. At the time, he apologized, admitting to a porn addiction and infidelity. Duggar, 37, will be released Oct. 2, 2032. He is imprisoned at FCI Seagoville in Texas. Jerry Harris of Netflix show 'Cheer' In 2020, after gaining fame on the Netflix docuseries "Cheer," competitive cheerleading coach Jerry Harris was charged with producing child pornography. Federal court records show Harris admitted he solicited and received explicit messages on Snapchat from at least 10 to 15 individuals he knew were minors; had sex with a 15-year-old boy at a cheerleading competition in 2019 and paid a 17-year-old money in exchange for nude photos. Season 2 of the hit Netflix show addressed Harris' downfall. Harris pleaded guilty in February 2022 and in July of that same year was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. Harris, 25, is serving time at FMC Lexington in Lexington, Kentucky and has a projected release date of Jan. 18, 2031. Downfall of a Netflix star. How one season of 'Cheer' addressed child pornography charges against Jerry Harris Jen Shah of Bravo's 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' In January 2024, "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Jen Shah was sentenced to 6½ years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a national telemarketing scheme. Judge Sidney H. Stein ruled the Bravo celebrity would spend 78 months behind bars, despite prosecutors' suggested sentence of 120 months. That's in addition to five years of supervision after her release. Shah, 50, also agreed to forfeit $6.5 million and to pay $9.5 million in restitution as part of her plea agreement. Shah, whose arrest was partially captured by Bravo's cameras, was ordered to begin her sentence Feb. 17, 2024. She is currently serving time at FPC Bryan in Texas and is expected to be released Sept. 19, 2026. Charles 'Todd' Hill of HGTV's 'Flip It to Win It' Former HGTV star Charles "Todd" Hill turned from celebrity fixer-upper to disgraced real estate criminal, when authorities charged him with committing real estate and financial fraud. Hill, 59, was sentenced to four years in jail and ordered to pay back close to $10 million for committing fraud against 11 victims, according to a news release from the County of Santa Clara Office of the District Attorney in California. The "Flip It to Win It" star was convicted in 2023 of multiple fraud schemes. On the show Hill would buy dilapidated homes, fix them up and sell them for a profit. Instead, "Hill spent millions on overbudget remodels, laundered profits and pocketed millions in fraudulently obtained money," the news release stated. He was indicted in November 2019, then convicted by plea on Sept. 27, 2023, of grand theft against all victims. He was ordered to pay back $9,402,678 in restitution and serve 10 years on probation. Hill is currently serving time at FCI Oakdale and will be released March 22, 2037. Contributing: Amy Haneline, Maria Puente, Elise Brisco, Marisa Kwiatkowski and Tricia L. Nadolny, USA TODAY
