Todd and Julie Chrisley Lose Custody Of Their Children Due To Jail Sentence

Todd and Julie Chrisley have not only lost their freedom, they’ve lost custody.

The reality TV couple are collectively facing nearly 20 years behind bars due to bank fraud and tax evasion.

The Chrisley brood is rather large and includes a minor son and adopted daughter.

Todd and Julie have Savannah Chrisley (25), Chase Chrisley (26) and Grayson Chrisley (16). They also have custody of their adopted daughter, Chloe Chrisley (10).

Chloe is the daughter of Todd’s other son, Kyle Chrisley, from a previous relationship.

Given they will not be able to properly parent in prison, Savannah will take over custody of Grayson and Chloe.

“I know the short term is going to be really painful and difficult and I may not come home without both of my parents. That’s what the chances are. That’s the likelihood and that’s the new normal,” Savannah said during an episode of her podcast. “I come home Tuesday and I have custody of a 16-year-old and a 10-year-old.”

She will gain full custody of the two minor children when Todd and Julie report to federal prison. The start date of their prison debut has yet to be determined.

Savannah noted her family will “immediately” file an appeal.

“I know what my parents have done and haven’t done, and I’m going to stick by them and their innocence and we’re going to continue to fight and file an appeal,” she said on “Unlocked.” “But, my heart also aches for the children of people who may be guilty of something.”

Todd was handed down a sentence of 12 years behind bars plus 16 months of probation, while his wife, Julie Chrisley, was given seven years in prison and 16 months of probation.

Todd was found guilty of conspiring to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million of fraudulent loans, as well as a number of tax crimes, including conspiring to defraud the IRS, tax evasion.

The matriarch of the Chrisley family was found guilty of wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that before the pair became reality TV stars, they submitted false bank statements, audit reports, and personal financial statements to banks to obtain the millions of dollars in fraudulent loans and then spent the money on luxury cars, designer clothes, real estate, and travel and used new fraudulent loans to pay back old ones.

The Blast reported their accountant, Peter Tarantino, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for his involvement with the couple’s tax evasion charge.

Tarantino was convicted in June for running a scheme that involved defrauding banks and the IRS by taking out loans and then dodging creditors.

“Why did Tarantino conspire with the Chrisleys to defraud the IRS?” is the question that Assistant US Attorney Annalise Peters was asking during Monday’s hearing.

She states that it is possible that Tarantino got caught up in something that went way over his head.

Peters also pointed out that Tarantino was only paid about $40K for his work indicating that it wasn’t a great payoff for the amount of time he just received in prison.