Savannah & Chase Chrisley Testified Against Parents to Grand Jury in Criminal Case
By Mike Walters on August 26, 2019 at 7:29 AM EDT
Todd and Julie Chrisley are pretty close with their children, so it only made sense for federal prosecutors to hone in on two of the most loyal kids when it came time to trying to secure a federal indictment against the reality stars.
According to legal documents obtained by The Blast, Savannah and Chase Chrisley, were "subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury in connection with the investigation," against their parents for tax and bank fraud.
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The documents state that "Chase and Savannah ultimately testified before the grand jury," and helped put the nail in the coffin for the federal indictment against their parents.
As we reported the case against the "Chrisley Knows Best" stars involves several different financial crimes, including 11 felony counts related to bank fraud and tax evasion.
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The documents also explain that 23-year-old Savannah and 22-year-old Chase were both represented by their own lawyers while testifying in front of the grand jury.
As you can imagine, the questioning by prosecutors revolved honed in on what the kids knew or saw regarding their parents' finances.
It also helped that both Savannah and Chase are on the family's reality shows, and are paid through the family production company, 7C's Productions.
One of the allegations outlined in the indictment accused the Chrisley's of running tons of money through their production company, yet claiming they didn't have enough to pay off their taxes.
The children may have also provided insight on the family's opulent lifestyle, as federal officials claimed they went on luxury shopping sprees and dumped tons of cash during the investigation.
Testimony presented to the grand jury is generally sealed unless the parties in the case move to make it public.
Even though the documents reveal that Chase and Savannah spoke, it does not reveal what they said.
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Seeing as both of the Chrisley kids have stood by their parents and maintained family support, there's a good chance they did not give the feds much ammo to use.
The filing itself lays out the possible conflict of interest for all four parties involved. The group shared the same attorneys during the investigation and grand jury hearings.
The documents explain, "At the arraignment, attorney Bruce Morris represented defendant Todd Chrisley while attorney Stephen Friedberg represented defendant Julie Chrisley."
When the kids testified, they were each represented by one of the same lawyers.
The law states a "Garcia" hearing must take place to explain to the Chrisley's there may be a conflict of interest, and make sure they understand that risk.
The court documents state that,
"Chase and Savannah ultimately testified before the grand jury while attorneys Morris and Friedberg represented them. Because attorney Friedberg represented Todd Chrisley during the grand jury investigation, his current client – Julie Chrisley – must be advised of her right to conflict-free counsel. Likewise, because attorney Morris represented Julie Chrisley during the grand jury investigation, his current client – Todd Chrisley – must be advised of his right to conflict-free counsel. And both Todd and Julie Chrisley must be advised that their attorneys represented witnesses who provided testimony during the grand jury investigation and who are potential witnesses at trial."
As we reported, the judge in this case has already warned Todd and Julie not to speak of the case with any potential witnesses, including the kids.
The dynamic should make for a very interesting upcoming season of their reality show.
The case in due back in court next month.
