Embattled “Chrisley Knows Best” star Todd Chrisley has been ordered to pay $755,000 to a former Georgia Department of Revenue investigator who sued him for defamation in 2021.
A Georgia jury last week found Chrisley, who is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for bank fraud and tax evasion, liable for defamatory statements against Amy Doherty-Heinze that he shared on his podcast and social media accounts, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY Wednesday.
The jury awarded Doherty-Heinze $350,000 in compensatory damages – $175,000 in damages for one count of defamation by libel and another $175,000 for one count of defamation by slander on Chrisley’s podcast in 2020 – $170,000 in punitive damages and $235,000 in legal expenses.
The jury agreed that Chrisley, who appeared remotely for this trial, made false and defamatory statements about Doherty-Heinze in a 2022 podcast episode but didn’t believe he acted with “malice,” so she was not awarded damages for this third count.
Chrisley’s lawyer on Thursday said in a statement to USA TODAY, “Although we are pleased the jury recognized that not all of Mr. Chrisley’s statements were defamatory and awarded the plaintiff a fourth of the damages she requested, we are concerned about the state of the First Amendment where such a case could make it to trial in the first place.”
Chrisley will be filing an appeal, his lawyer revealed, adding, “We are optimistic about our appeal.”
In her 2021 defamation lawsuit, according to the Los Angeles Times, Doherty-Heinze alleged Chrisley started accusing her of “a multitude of crimes and wrongdoing” in 2020. She also said he “repeated false accusations that, among other things, (Doherty-Heinze) engaged in various criminal misconduct in her post as an investigator for the Georgia Department of Revenue’s Office of Special Investigations.”
Who is Todd Chrisley?
Todd and Julie Chrisley, who portrayed themselves as real estate tycoons in the South on their USA Network shows, are both serving prison sentences after a jury in June 2022 found them guilty of conspiring to defraud community banks in Atlanta out of more than $36 million in fraudulent loans, defraud the IRS and commit tax evasion.
Julie Chrisley was also convicted of obstruction of justice.
Five months later, Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Julie Chrisley received a seven-year sentence. They began their respective sentences in January 2023.
This month, an Atlanta federal appeals court will hear oral arguments in the Chrisleys’ case. Their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, shared the “huge news” in November, calling the update “one step closer to getting mom and dad home.”
An April 10 records search by USA TODAY shows Todd Chrisley, 56, has an anticipated release date of Oct. 9, 2032, from FPC Pensacola in Florida. Julie’s release from FMC Lexington in Kentucky is set for July 6, 2028.
“Chrisley Knows Best” aired on USA Network for 10 seasons, from 2014 through 2023. “Growing Up Chrisley,” a spin-off featuring the couple’s adult children, Chase and Savannah Chrisley, went on for four seasons after its 2019 premiere.
According to Variety and Deadline, the family is planning a reality TV comeback with a new unscripted docuseries.
The show, produced by Scout Productions, is reportedly not yet attached to a broadcaster or streaming service but will follow the family as Todd and Julie Chrisley’s children — Chase, Savannah and Grayson, as well as granddaughter Chloe and Todd’s mother, Faye Chrisley — adjust to life with their parents behind bars.
