Imprisoned Todd & Julie Chrisley Awarded $1 Million Settlement in Investigation Misconduct Lawsuit

Todd and Julie Chrisley might have started off 2024 with a small win, but they've still got roughly a combined 14 years to serve behind bars.

On Tuesday, January 9, the Chrisley's family attorney, Alex Little of Burr & Forman LLP, announced the reality stars are receiving a $1 million settlement from the state of Georgia as a result of their 2019 federal lawsuit against the former Director of Special Investigations of the state’s Department of Revenue Joshua Waites.

"We have been saying for months that the criminal case against the Chrisleys was highly unusual and had real problems," the lawyer explained in a statement to a news publication about the settlement.

"This settlement is an encouraging sign," Little noted, as the Chrisley Knows Best stars still cling onto hope their convictions will some day be overturned or their sentences will be reduced more than they already have been.

The attorney concluded: "It’s nearly unprecedented for one arm of the government to pay money to defendants when another arm is fighting to keep them in jail."

In the lawsuit initially filed in October 2019, the fraudsters' former lawyer Michael J. Bowers accused Waites’ initial charges against Todd and Julie of being "a shocking example of how an out-of-control public servant can abuse his office and violate the rights of innocent citizens for reasons that have more to do with securing publicity and money for his office than with enforcing the law," per court documents obtained by the news outlet.

Bowers further alleged that Waites "began to focus his efforts and desire" on the Chrisley family several years prior, claiming he particularly targeted Todd and his 34-year-old daughter, Lindsie, whom he wanted to dig out information from.

"Ultimately Waites’s efforts failed, but in the process, the Chrisleys were forced to incur substantial personal and financial hardship," Bowers stated of the investigator, claiming Waites shared her father's confidential tax information with Lindsie after his efforts to receive information from her left him empty handed.

Todd and Julie started their 12 and seven-year respective prison sentences in January 2023, though their terms were reduced within a few months.

Now, the patriarch has completed nearly one year out of his new total of 10 years behind bars, while his wife has completed the same amount of time in her sentence — which was lessened by 14 months.

The couple — who tied the knot in 1996 — was found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax fraud in June 2022, while Julie was additionally convicted of wire fraud.

Todd and Julie had submitted false documents in an effort to receive loans later used to purchase luxury cars, clothes, real estate and to travel.

People obtained court documents about the lawsuit.