The first week in the courtroom trial against Todd and Julie Chrisley of the USA Network’s Chrisley Knows Best concluded with the usual defense and an unveiling from prosecutors. The married couple of 25 years were indicted on 12 counts of bank and wire fraud and conspiracy in 2019 and have denied all charges.
They did receive a minor victory that same year when they were cleared of a Georgia state tax evasion charge after the Department of Revenue dropped its claim that the Chrisleys owed over $2.1 million in unpaid taxes following receipt of evidentiary documentation.
Such is not the case with federal prosecutors who came out the gate swinging on Tuesday with allegations of wrongdoing. Assistant US Attorney Annalise Peters accused the couple of “lying through the teeth” to maintain a certain lifestyle by fraudulent means.
The Chrisleys Have an Alleged History of Discrepancies and Embellishments
According to Peters, the Chrisleys hid money from the IRS while living a lavish lifestyle. In 2017, Todd Chrisley stated in a radio interview that he paid over $1 million in taxes per year, but Peters alleges he had not paid a dime in years and records presented at trial showed no significant payments to support Chrisley’s claim. In one episode of Chrisley Knows Best Todd Chrisley spoke of spending a whopping $300,000 annually on clothing. However, Chrisley’s attorney, Bruce Morris, explains the hefty clothing budget was just all part of the “sizzle” and although his client attempted to appear wealthy on the show, he was actually in bankruptcy at the time.
Morris went on to argue that an employee of Chrisley’s, Mark Braddock, is the actual fraudster with claims of Braddock doing everything he could to live like Todd, including buying one of the television personality’s former homes and impersonating him on phone calls. Morris added that Braddock went to the FBI for “protection and revenge” after Chrisley fired him.
Annie Kate Pons, a producer on Chrisley Knows Best, was a previous employee who Todd Chrisley owed $10,000 in back wages, testified on Thursday. According to Pons, she met Chrisley in 2009 when she was trying to sell a line of baby clothes to Chrisley who had plans to launch a luxury department store, Chrisley and Co. The store never got off the ground and she was never paid for her work. However, years later and with a background in television, Pons pitched the idea of a reality series centered around the boisterous Chrisley family and the show was sold to USA Network. Pons furthered testified that she only worked on the series for one season but will be credited as a producer for the lifetime of the show, hauling in around $200,000 per year.
Julie Chrisley’s character has come into question before after previous claims of being part of the pageant circuit and once crowned Miss Carolina. However, a 2014 investigation conducted by Radar Online found no records of her ever having won a Miss South Carolina or Miss North Carolina title. Despite the Chrisleys' legal and credibility woes, Chrisley Knows Best has been renewed for a tenth season.