Exclusive: Julie Chrisley will be home before Thanksgiving – ‘Life will be so much better’
Julie Chrisley’s seven-year prison sentence for bank fraud and tax evasion was thrown out in late June due to insufficient evidence and a resentencing was ordered
Savannah Chrisley is ready for her mom Julie Chrisley to come home.
The Chrisley Knows Best alum, 26, shared on her Unlocked podcast that she is “hopeful” Julie, 51, will be home within the next few months after federal judges vacated her seven-year prison sentence for tax evasion and bank fraud in late June and a resentencing was ordered.
“So now we sit and wait, hopefully, no more than 90 days to go for that hearing,” Savannah shared. “And hopefully, she comes home because … the appeals court said they could not find the evidence used to convict mom. So that is a really big deal.”
She added, “Hopefully, she comes home. If she comes home, oh my gosh, life will be so much better.”
On June 21, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of Julie, her husband Todd Chrisley — who received a sentence of 12 years in prison — and their accountant Peter Tarantino, but found that the original trial judge had miscalculated Julie’s sentence when she was convicted in 2022.
According to the judges’ ruling, which was obtained by PEOPLE, Julie was held responsible for the entire bank fraud scheme, which began in 2006, but the judges found insufficient evidence to prove that she was involved before 2007.
Her case was sent back to a lower court for resentencing, so a judge could revisit how much Julie’s sentence should differ from its original.
Expressing her wish for her mother to be released from prison by the holiday season, Savannah told her podcast listeners, “I’m making it my goal that, like, by Thanksgiving, she’s home. So I will keep you guys updated on that whole process.”
She added that if her mom returns from prison, then she would have time to “truly focus on all of dad’s stuff,” including working with her parents’ lawyers to file a motion for ineffective assistance of counsel.
“The appeals court gave us a very solid case for ineffective counsel by saying [the] trial lawyer should have done x, y, and z. They should have objected. They should have filed the motion timely,” she said. “For some reason, they decided to file it 2 years past the deadline. So none of that really makes sense to me, especially when you spend an absolute fortune.”
During the podcast, Savannah also shared some insight into how the family was taking the news. She recalled that Chloe, her niece who had been under her parents’ care, had “tears well up in her eyes” at the idea that Julie could return home after her resentencing.
“I know for me that I’m in this place of wanting to rejoice, but at the same time, I don’t wanna get my hopes up. I tend to do that a lot,” she said. “So I just don’t want to disappoint her [and] I don’t want to disappoint [my younger brother] Grayson.”
Along with Savannah, Julie and Todd, 55, also share sons Chase, 28, and Grayson, 18. Todd is also dad to daughter Lindsie, 34, and son Kyle, 32, with his ex-wife Teresa Terry.
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