Julie and Todd Chrisley owes $17.2 million in fraud restitution, likely selling TN mansion?

Chrisley Knows Best couple Julie Chrisley and Todd Chrisley built an empire by defrauding banks out of tens of millions of dollars and then defrauding the government by failing to pay taxes when they actually started earning money legitimately. The Chrisley empire is now in shambles as the couple prepares to begin serving prison sentences of 7 and 12 years respectively.

In addition to the prison sentences, which should begin in January of 2023, Julie and Todd Chrisley also have to pay back more than $17 million in restitution to their victims. According to the Judgment of Forfeiture filed on Monday, the Chrisleys must pay a whopping total of $17,270,741.57 in restitution. From the Judgment and Commitment, also filed on Monday:

Restitution shall be paid in full immediately. The defendant shall make restitution in the amount of $17,270,741.57 (to the victims) joint and severally with co-defendant Julie Chrisley. Payments are to be made to the Clerk, of the United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia, for distribution to the victims, in the amounts listed below.

If the defendant makes a partial payment, each payee shall receive an approximately proportioned payment. However, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3664(i), all nonfederal victims must be paid before the United States is paid.

It appears that Julie and Todd may have a difficult time building up their prison books (legitimately) because part of whatever money they earn working in prison will go towards paying off what they owe. And their debt will follow the couple after release as well. From the filing:

If not paid in full immediately, the defendant shall make restitution payments from any wages he may earn in prison in accordance with the Bureau of Prisons Financial Responsibility Program. Any portion of the restitution that is not paid in full at the time of the defendant’s release from imprisonment shall become a condition of supervision and be paid at the monthly rate of at least $1,000.

The Chrisleys did catch a small break in that the Court determined they are unable to pay interest, so the interest requirement was waived.

Julie and Todd Chrisley To Sell Tennessee Mansions?

The Chrisleys flaunted the millions of dollars they obtained illegally in numerous ways, including the purchase of two mansions near Nashville, Tennessee.

“They’re going to have to give up a lot of things, including their homes, sadly. They won’t be able to afford it,” a Chrisley insider told The New York Post.

When the Chrisleys first moved to Tennessee in 2016, they purchased a relatively modest, 5,229-square-foot, four bedroom home in Belle Meade for $1.6 million. Here is a Google Maps Street View of the house:

Just a few years later, the Chrisleys upgraded their digs by purchasing a 13,279-square-foot, six bedroom, 10 BATHROOM home in Brentwood for $3,375,000. They purchased the new house in April of 2019 and put it back on the market just a couple months later for $4,750,000. Despite dropping the price and listing the property a couple more times, the house did not sell.

Here are some photos of the Chrisley’s larger home from Google Maps:

 

I took the estimated values of both properties from Zillow, Realtor.com and Redfin and averaged them. The Belle Meade home’s average estimated value is just over $3 million and the average estimate for the Brentwood property is $5,576,399. That would mean the total value of the two properties combined is in the neighborhood of $8.6 million.

It’s important to note that selling the homes will not result in the Chrisleys having $8.5 million dollars in their possession. All they will have is whatever amount they have paid so far on the properties in terms of principal, plus the increase in property value, minus all of the fees and taxes from selling the houses.

UPDATE – After researching property records, Starcasm was able to determine that the Chrisleys sold their Belle Meade property in March of 2017, which was less than three months after they purchased it in December of 2016. It’s interesting to note that both Tennessee homes were purchased under Julie Chrisley’s name. Also interesting to note is that Savannah Chrisley purchased a $681,880 home in Franklin, Tennessee in October of 2016.

UPDATE – As with pretty much anything involving the Chrisleys, researching their Belle Meade property is like peeling an onion. Julie Chrisley transferred the property to Mike Sontag, Trustee of The Getha Family Trust, in March of 2017. I assumed that meant she sold it. However, there are four different Chrisley-affiliated businesses that were formed later than March, 2017 which list the Belle Meade address in their official filings. Todd Chrisley’s Chrisley Unlimited, Chase Chrisley’s CMC Productions, Nic Kerdiles’ (Savannah Chrisley’s ex-fiancé) Nashkap Realty, and Chrisley and Co Realty all list the address.

I do not know how the restitution debt will impact Julie and Todd’s ability to pay for what is sure to be a lengthy appeals process.

In other words, it is going to take the Chrisleys A LOT longer to pay off their $17+ million debt than it did for them to defraud businesses and the government out of more than $30 million. And that includes the family’s hefty paychecks from nine seasons of their reality show, spin-offs, and endorsements/promotions.

I should also point out that Todd Chrisley is named in multiple defamation lawsuits filed by a former Georgia Department of Revenue investigator named Amy Doherty-Heinze. In addition to potential damages if he loses, there will also be legal expenses associated with that case as well.

#ChrisleyKnowsBest Chloe's mom Angela Johnson says in a new video that she will fight for custody of Chloe after Julie Chrisley and Todd Chrisley were sentenced to 7 and 10 years in prison. "I didn't walk away from her. I was pushed out of her life." https://t.co/9pwJlyVOIB

— Starcasm (@starcasm) December 6, 2022

Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com