Blog

Oct 25, 2024

Todd Chrisley fired from job at prison chapel over interactions with other inmates | The Independent

Reality TV star Todd Chrisley is serving a 12-year prison sentence in Florida for bank fraud and tax evasion charges Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile This

Reality TV star Todd Chrisley is serving a 12-year prison sentence in Florida for bank fraud and tax evasion charges

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Todd Chrisley has been fired from his job in prison.

The Chrisley Knows Best reality star – who’s serving a 12-year sentence at Federal Prison Camp Pensacola in Florida – was dismissed from his position because of how he interacted with fellow inmates, his attorney Jay Surgent told The Independent.

Surgent said that Chrisley initially had an administrative role in the prison chapel as an Assistant to the Chaplain. His responsibilities included helping with “the set-up for religious procedures for various religious affiliations that are Christian, Jewish, and Muslim.”

However, he lost his job and access to his small office because he “was speaking with various inmates” who were a part of the prison’s Residental Drug Abuse Program (RDAP). According to Surgent, Chrisley “wasn't even given any reason for” why he was dismissed from the position after two years. It’s also unclear what Chrisley said that urged prison officials to make this decision.

Surgent shared his belief that prison officials didn’t want Chrisley to be associated with inmates in the RDAP because they “get to go out into the community during the day and work,” while sleeping at the facility at night. He noted that Chrisley “has a history of reporting problems that exist in his institution in Pensacola,” which is also why the attorney believes that prison officials didn’t want him to speak to these inmates.

The attorney further claimed that Chrisley’s firing from the position was “unfair and uncalled for.” However, the reality star still “maintains his faith and believes that God will work it out for himself and his wife, Julie [Chrisley], and the rest of his family.”

A representative for the Federal Bureau of Prison told TMZ, which was the first to report the news: “For privacy reasons, we do not comment on the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual, including their work detail assignments.”

Todd and Julie Chrisley, who starred in the USA Network series Chrisley Knows Best for 10 seasons – were found guilty of conspiring to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans in 2022. They also were found guilty of tax evasion and conspiring to defraud the IRS, while Julie was convicted of wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

Todd is serving his sentence at a minimum security federal prison camp in Pensacola, with a release date of June 2032, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Julie is at a facility in Lexington, Kentucky, set to be released in April 2028.

The couple’s former accountant, Peter Tarantino, was also found guilty for his involvement in the couple's tax evasion charge. He’s set for release in March from an Atlanta-area halfway house.

Last month, Julie was seeking a reduction to no more than a five-year sentence, citing the impact of her detention in prison on her two youngest children. However, a federal judge in Georgia rejected her bid.

“I cannot ever repay my children for what they’ve had to go through, and for that I’m sorry,” she said in court. “I apologize for my actions and what led me to where I am today.”

Todd and Julie share three children: Chase, 28, Savannah, 27, and Grayson, 18. Todd also welcomed two children – Lindsie, 35, and Kyle, 33 – with his first wife, Teresa Terry.

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies