ATLANTA, GA — Todd and Julie Chrisley, the former Atlanta residents best known for their reality TV series on the USA cable network, have turned themselves into the FBI after being indicted by a grand jury Tuesday. The “Chrisley Knows Best” stars have been indicted on multiple counts of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion, which may have cost them their TV show. The couple’s accountant, Roswell, Georgia-based Peter Tarantino, has also been indicted on tax-related offenses, authorities say.
The Chrisleys were arraigned in federal court Wednesday afternoon and were freed on a $100,000 bond each with travel restrictions to the Middle Tennessee and North Georgia federal districts.
. Meanwhile, an entertainment website alleges that USA has decided to cancel the Chrisleys’ contract in wake of what RadarOnline calls “a tax evasion scandal.” That report has not been confirmed by the Chrisleys or the network, which hasn’t publicly commented on the indictments.
Federal prosecutors allege that from 2007 to 2012 the Chrisleys conspired to defraud numerous banks by giving the firms false information, including personal financial statements and fabricated bank statements when applying for and receiving millions of dollars in loans.
The Chrisleys then allegedly used much of the proceeds for their benefit. In 2014, two years after the bank fraud scheme ended, the Chrisleys used fabricated bank statements and a false credit report that had been cut and taped together when applying for and obtaining a lease for a home in California, prosecutors claim.
The family has gained fame in the reality TV series “Chrisley Knows Best,” an Atlanta-based show airing weekly on the USA cable network.
Todd Chrisley responded to the federal investigation in an Instagram post. “We have nothing to hide and have done nothing to be ashamed of. Not only do we know we’ve done nothing wrong, but we’ve got a ton of hard evidence and a bunch of corroborating witnesses that proves it,” he wrote.
The Chrisleys live in Nashville, Tennessee. Federal prosecutors said in February 2017 Todd Chrisley claimed on a national radio program, “obviously the federal government likes my tax returns because I pay $750,000 to $1 million just about every year so the federal government doesn’t have a problem with my taxes.”
But prosecutors charge the couple did not file timely income tax returns for the 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 tax years or pay federal income taxes on time during that period.
Instead, prosecutors say the Chrisleys and Tarantino obstructed IRS collection efforts, including hiding income, lying to third parties about their tax returns, and lying to FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents.
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On his Instagram account, Todd Chrisley said in 2012 that he and his wife “discovered that a trusted employee of ours had been stealing from us big time.” He said the incident “involved all kinds of really bad stuff like creating phony documents, forging our signatures, and threatening other employees with violence if they said anything. … We even discovered that he illegally bugged our home.”
Chrisley said the employee was fired, and “to get revenge, he took a bunch of his phony documents to the U.S. Attorney’s office and told them we had committed all kinds of financial crimes, like tax evasion and bank fraud.”
The purported actions of the former employee led to the federal indictment, Chrisley said.
“Todd and Julie Chrisley are charged not only with defrauding a number of banks by fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in loans, but also with allegedly cheating taxpayers by actively evading paying federal taxes on the money they earned,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Celebrities face the same justice that everyone does. These are serious federal charges and they will have their day in court.”
In 2017 Domenick Nati interviewed Todd Chrisley on The Domenick Nati Show, in which he claims he “has been a Florida resident for 15 years” and the federal government has no problem with my taxes.”