'Chrisley Knows Best' stars plead not guilty to financial crimes, released on $100,000 bond
Todd and Julie Chrisley pleaded not guilty to tax evasion and other federal charges in a Georgia court on Wednesday. The stars of Chrisley Knows Best surrendered to authorities earlier in the day. According to reports, Todd and Julie were each released on $100,000 unsecured appearance bonds. A federal judge ruled their travel will be restricted to Atlanta, parts of Tennessee and California where they can film their reality show; however, the couple must notify their probation officers first.
Todd appeared happy leaving court, Julie more stoic, in a video obtained by TMZ. "We're going to fight it and we're going to win it," the Chrisleys' lawyer said. "They are innocent of every single charge."
The reality TV stars have been indicted on multiple counts of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion. The Chrisleys' accountant, Peter Tarantino, has also been indicted on tax-related offenses. In a statement on Instagram, Todd preemptively denied the charges, alleging a disgruntled employee set them up.
"It all started back in 2012, when we discovered that a trusted employee of ours had been stealing from us big time," he wrote, claiming this person created "phony documents" and forged their signatures. The employee was fired and according to Todd, "took his phony documents to the U.S. Attorney's office and told them we had committed all kinds of financial crimes, like tax evasion and bank fraud."
"I'm telling you all this now because we have nothing to hide and have done nothing to be ashamed of. Not only do we know we've done nothing wrong, but we've got a ton of hard evidence and a bunch of corroborating witnesses that prove it," he continued. "Anyway, when all is said and done we trust in God..."