Todd and Julie Chrisley began serving their 12 and 7-year prison sentences, respectively, on Tuesday, January 17. Beginning a long time in custody is sure to be a difficult time for any family, and a Chrisley family insider revealed to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that before the pair began to serve their time, it was a tearful goodbye for the Chrisley Knows Best stars and their family.
The insider said that Todd, 53, and Julie, 49, spent as much time bonding with their loved ones as they possibly could, even though they’re still unsure of what comes next. “Todd and Julie spent all yesterday with their family, and it was an extremely emotional time. There were lots of tears and no one knew what to say because there was nothing that they could say which would change anything,” the insider said. “Todd and Julie knew that they had run out of options, and this was it.” The source echoed a similar sentiment that Todd had shared in his final message on Instagram before beginning his sentence, where wrote that he would “Fight the good fight.”
A week before being required to report to their respective facilities, the pair had both requested bond while they try to appeal their tax fraud conviction and have it overturned. They were denied bond, but the source said that they were going to keep trying for the appeal. “Todd is insisting that he will fight the good fight and he is putting all his eggs in one basket with this appeal. They have not accepted responsibility for this, and they are not going to. They truly believe that they were failed by the system,” they said.
The reality star couple received their sentences in November. Julie is currently serving her time at Kentucky’s Federal Medical Center Lexington, while her husband is at Federal Prison Camp Pensacola in Florida. “Julie’s last-minute change to Kentucky was a slight moment of joy for them because most of the kids live in Tennessee, which is only one state over. Todd’s location in Pensacola Florida is another story and it will not be as easy to visit him,” the insider said. “This is so hard on all of them right now.”
Todd and Julie were both found guilty on all counts of tax fraud back in June. Todd was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, tax fraud, and bank fraud. Julie was found guilty of tax fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States.