Todd and Julie Chrisley’s attorney shares his thoughts on the couple’s future following the news that their prison terms have been reduced. Todd (54) and Julie (50) were sentenced in November 2022 to a total of 19 years in prison for bank fraud and tax evasion. They reported to the prison on January 17, despite the appeal of the case.
However, on Friday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ online inmate search system indicated that the Chrisley family patriarch will now be released almost two years before his 12-year sentence was originally scheduled to expire, while Julien’s seven-year sentence was reduced by 14 months. .
Todd and Julie Chrisley received reduced prison terms
Now, attorney Jay Surgent is speaking out about the news, telling PEOPLE that he hopes the couple’s sentencing time will be reduced even further.
“They were able to get some time off for both of them,” Surgent says, adding that the upcoming legal action on Nov. 1 could cut into even more time off. “There will be the adoption of Federal guidelines for determining sentences, changes, modifications, recommendations for reducing sentences for non-violent offenders. So [I] i don’t know at this point, but they should get two points apiece for that. So that will further reduce their fines.”
Julie and Todd Chrisley on ‘Chrisley Knows Best’. USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Everything you need to know about Todd and Julie Chrisley’s $30 million fraud trial
Surgent says he is working with the Justice Department on other matters related to the Chrisley couple’s appeal, but declined to elaborate.
“There is hope,” he notes. “There’s always hope, but I feel like they’re very attractive.”
Surgent previously revealed to PEOPLE in late July that new filings related to Todd and Julie’s appeals process were filed at the time.
“The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals can overturn the District Court’s decision or it can remand the case for hearings that should have been held but were not held during this trial,” he explained. “We argued very vigorously that their constitutional rights were violated and that they were not actually given a fair hearing. Everything is actually black and white.”
Another attorney for the two, Alex Little, also said in late July about Savannah Chrisley’s Unlocked podcast that “it’s going to be a tough job, but in this case, we have, you know, real legitimate substantive arguments that we think, you know, you know, if the court takes a fair approach, they have a very good chance of winning.”
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Julie Chrisley and Todd Chrisley at the E3 Chophouse Nashville Grand Opening on November 20, 2019.
Danielle Del Valle/Getty
Lindsie Chrisley says her parents’ legal battle made her family ‘closer’: ‘We pulled together’
Meanwhile, Todd and Julie’s kids have released updates on how they’re coping with prison. (Todd is currently serving time at Pensacola Federal Penitentiary, while Julie is at Lexington Federal Medical Center.)
“They’re hanging in there. It’s a terrible situation,” their son Chase Chrisley said recently Extra. “Conditions [of their prisons] are awful and if you read all these headlines, they say the exact opposite, but that’s not true and we’re also going to spread awareness about that.”
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But Savannah, 26, says she still has “so much hope” for her parents despite the hardships they’ve faced.
“I know that they’re going through what they’re going through so that we can make a difference, so that we can make a difference,” she said earlier on her podcast. “Because whether this appeal works or not, they’re still coming out with the story.”
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Source: HIS Education