Securing Pardons for Todd and Julie Chrisley

The Case at a Glance

1. 2019: Federal prosecutors in Atlanta indict Todd and Julie Chrisley.
2. 2022: A jury convicts both. Todd is sentenced to 12 years and Julie to seven.
3. 2024: The Eleventh Circuit vacates Julie’s sentence and sends her case back for resentencing.
4. Late 2024: The resentencing court keeps Julie’s 84-month term and adds two years of supervised release.
5. May 28, 2025: President Trump signs full and unconditional pardons for Todd and Julie.
6. May 30, 2025: Todd and Savannah join Alex Little and Zack Lawson at a press conference in Nashville.

The Charges and Convictions

Todd Chrisley rose from humble beginnings in South Carolina to become a successful real estate developer and businessman. He and Julie went on to create one of television’s most popular reality series, which followed their family’s life and drew millions of devoted fans across nine seasons.

In 2019, federal prosecutors in Atlanta indicted the Chrisleys on charges stemming from financial transactions that had occurred years earlier. The government alleged that Todd and Julie had defrauded banks by providing false information to obtain loans, evaded federal taxes, and obstructed the investigation.

Following a trial in 2022, a jury convicted both Todd and Julie on multiple counts:

• Conspiracy to commit bank fraud
• Bank fraud and wire fraud
• Conspiracy to commit tax evasion
• Obstruction of justice

Neither Todd nor Julie had any prior criminal record, and the financial transactions took place more than a decade before sentencing. The court still imposed severe sentences: 12 years in federal prison for Todd and seven years for Julie.

These sentences exceeded what many defendants receive for violent crimes, and they tore apart a family that included minor children who desperately needed their parents.

The Defense Strategy

Litson PLLC took over appellate and post-conviction representation. Co-Founding Partners Alex Little and Zack Lawson built a strategy that pursued relief through both the courts and executive clemency.

Challenging Julie’s Sentence on Appeal

The Litson team identified significant issues with Julie’s sentence and pursued relief in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court agreed that errors warranted relief, vacated Julie’s sentence, and remanded the case for resentencing.

Julie’s guidelines range dropped more than 35%.

The range fell from 121-151 months to 78-97 months.

Documenting Constitutional Concerns

Throughout the proceedings, Litson documented serious concerns about how the case had been investigated and prosecuted:

• The investigation’s origins. A Georgia Department of Revenue investigator had displayed personal animus toward Todd before launching his inquiry.
• An unlawful search. The court determined a search was unlawful, but the government was permitted to use evidence derived from it anyway.
• Contradicted testimony. Post-trial filings showed that an IRS officer’s testimony about the Chrisleys’ taxes was contradicted by the agency’s own records, which reflected that the couple had paid their taxes for the years in question.

Pursuing Executive Clemency

While the court challenges continued, Litson prepared and submitted a comprehensive clemency petition to the White House.

The petition, supported by members of Congress, political and civic leaders, and community advocates, detailed the constitutional concerns surrounding the prosecution. It also showed the devastating impact the incarceration had on the Chrisley family.

The Resentencing

Despite the successful appeal, the resentencing proceeding in late 2024 produced a troubling result. The court kept Julie’s original 84-month prison term and added two years of supervised release, a harsher sentence than before despite the reduced guidelines.

The Litson team documented concerns about the proceeding and folded them into the ongoing clemency effort.

Todd and Julie’s case is exactly why the pardon power exists: to correct misguided prosecutions and reaffirm basic constitutional protections.

Alex Little, Managing Partner, Litson PLLC

The Resolution

On May 28, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed full and unconditional pardons for Todd and Julie Chrisley. The pardons ended their incarceration and relieved them of every remaining legal consequence of their federal convictions.

On May 30, Todd and his daughter Savannah joined Alex Little and Zack Lawson at a press conference in Nashville to announce the resolution and thank President Trump for granting clemency.

Sentences totaling 19 years. Two full pardons.

• Todd’s 12-year federal sentence became a full presidential pardon.
• Julie’s seven-year federal sentence became a full presidential pardon.
• Multiple fraud and tax convictions became full and unconditional relief.
• Parents separated from their children became a family reunited.

What This Outcome Means

Presidential pardons in high-profile federal cases are exceptionally rare. A full and unconditional pardon is the most complete form of relief available in the American legal system.

The pardons freed Todd and Julie and relieved them of every remaining legal consequence of the fraud, tax, and obstruction convictions, so the family could begin rebuilding their lives.

Conduct During Incarceration

Both Todd and Julie showed exemplary conduct throughout their time in federal custody.

• Julie completed 43 educational certificates and held multiple jobs at the facility, including teaching roles where she helped other inmates build skills.
• Julie kept a perfect disciplinary record and made steady restitution payments through the Bureau of Prisons’ financial responsibility program despite limited prison earnings.
• Todd advocated for better prison conditions. His reports to the Bureau of Prisons about unsanitary conditions and staff misconduct preceded the agency’s decision to shut his facility down entirely.

The Impact

The Chrisleys’ imprisonment created devastating ripple effects throughout their family.

Their daughter Savannah, just 27, suddenly became the primary caregiver for her younger siblings, Grayson and Chloe. She put her own life on hold to give stability to children who desperately missed their parents.

It was especially hard on Chloe, their adopted granddaughter, who faced a second separation from parents after already being abandoned by her biological parents.

Julie’s parents, both in their 70s and facing serious health issues including heart surgery, lost their only surviving child and primary caregiver when they needed her most.

Savannah Chrisley, who had spoken at the 2024 Republican National Convention about her family’s ordeal, expressed gratitude after the pardon announcement for the resolution that would bring her parents home.

The Litson Team

• Alex Little led the clemency effort, drawing on his experience as a former federal prosecutor to craft the pardon petition and coordinate advocacy with the White House and Department of Justice.
• Zack Lawson worked on the appellate strategy that secured the vacatur of Julie’s sentence and contributed to the clemency submission.

Presidential pardons signed May 28, 2025. Original convictions entered in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.