We guess when it comes to his seemingly shady personal finance dealings, Chrisley really does know best after all.
Back in August, USA Network reality star and sometime crazy person Todd Chrisley was indicted on tax evasion charges.
Along with his wife, Julie Chrisley, Todd stood accused of concealing more than $2 million in earnings from the state of Georgia.
Investigators claimed to have uncovered evidence of multiple fraudulent tax returns filed between 2008 and 2016.
The finding set off an avalanche of bad press that has essentially buried the Chrisleys’ reputation and future career prospects.
(There was the matter of him blackmailing his daughter with a sex tape of her and Robby Hayes, but that’s neither here nor there.)
But in an Atlanta courtroom today, Todd finally caught a break as a judge dismissed the state’s charges against the couple.
According to E! News, the court determined that the Chrisleys over-paid the state in four of the eight years under investigation.
The court determined that they owed nothing for four other years, and had a net liability of less than $77,000 in overdue taxes for just one year of incorrect filing.
Obviously, 77 grand isn’t chump change, but on its own, it won’t be enough to land the Chrisleys behind bars, and court documents indicate that they’ve already reached a settlement with the state.
“Julie and I knew all along that we had done nothing wrong and that when the facts all came out, we would be fine,” Todd shared in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
“We’re just glad that the Department of Revenue was willing to keep an open mind and look at all the evidence.”
Of course, as many who have followed the case closely pointed out, Todd is celebrating a bit prematurely.
For starters, he and his wife have only been cleared of state charges, and they’re still set to stand trial in federal court.
And the possibility of jail time remains very much on the table.
On top of that, the whole scandal has done irreparable damage to the Chrisleys’ reputation and seems to have brought an end to their lucrative reality show.
Though Todd claims Chrisley Knows Best has not been canceled, sources at USA say otherwise.
At this point, it’s difficult to imagine the show continuing, as the facade of a happy, functional family that Todd carefully constructed over the years has crumbled in astonishing fashion in recent months.
As we alluded to earlier, in a turn of events that many found more shocking than the tax evasion charges, Todd has been accused of obtaining a sex tape featuring his daughter Lindsie Chrisley for the purposes of blackmailing her.
The 50-year-old father of five has refused to address the allegations publicly.
The tax evasion scandal has also called attention to Todd’s fractured relationship with his estranged son Kyle Chrisley (below).
Kyle has publicly accused his father of cheating the federal government, but later claimed those statements were the result of his ongoing substance abuse issues.
Following today’s hearing, Todd and Julie’s attorneys issued a statement in which they expressed confidence that a federal judge will find their clients not guilty:
“We have maintained from day one that there has not been any tax evasion by our clients Todd and Julie Chrisley,” the couple’s attorney, Bruce H. Morris, said in a statement.
“This settlement with the state is a big step in the direction of proving their innocence.”
We’ll keep you updated on this developing story as more information becomes available, and you best believe that it will.
We’ve learned that the more layers you peel back with this family, the crazier the news, twists and turns become.