Trump pardons two reality TV stars convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion

"They were treated pretty harshly, from what I heard," Donald Trump told Savannah Chrisley, daughter of Todd and Julie Chrisley, in a call telling her he decided to pardon the two reality TV stars. In 2022, the couple had been convicted of bank fraud for more than $30 million and tax evasion. The daughter of the famous TV show stars believes that her parents, like Trump, were persecuted by the justice system for their political views.

"It's a terrible thing, but it's good because her parents are going to be free and clear," Trump said on the call with Savannah and her brother, Grayson Chrisley. "We'll try to do that tomorrow, so give them my best - even though I don't know them - and wish them well. Wish them a good life," he added, according to video of the communication posted Tuesday by a White House official on the social networking site X.

Grayson Chrisley responded, "Mr. President, I just want to thank you for bringing my parents back."

Todd and Julie Chrisley, known for starring in the USA Network reality show , which showcased the lavish lifestyle they led as real estate moguls in Nashville and Atlanta, had in February requested Trump's pardon . "They believe the president will seriously consider pardoning both Julie and Todd Chrisley as a result of the unfair treatment they received in the criminal justice system," Jay Surgent, one of their lawyers, said at the time, according to

The conviction of the Chrisleys

In November 2022, a judge sentenced Todd Chrisley to 12 years in prison and Julie to seven years after they were convicted of conspiring to defraud a number of banks in the Atlanta area by submitting false documentation to receive loans of more than $30 million. The couple was also ordered to pay $17.8 million in restitution.

"The Chrisleys spent the money on luxury cars, designer clothes, real estate and travel, and used the new fraudulent loans to repay the old ones," the Atlanta U.S. Attorney's Office said when the conviction became known. "After spending all the money, Todd Chrisley filed for bankruptcy and left more than $20 million of the loans unpaid," it added.

The Chrisleys were also found guilty of tax evasion, evading paying $500,000 in taxes while earning millions of dollars from their television show. They also failed to file income tax returns or pay taxes for tax years 2013 through 2016.

The reality show they starred in, which first aired in 2014 and ran for ten seasons, depicted the day-to-day life of a Southern millionaire family living in a mansion in suburban Atlanta. Todd Chrisley was portrayed as a successful real estate entrepreneur and the show extolled his family's life of luxury.

"The Chrisleys have built an empire based on the lie that their wealth came from dedication and hard work," prosecutors wrote. "The jury's unanimous verdict makes the record clear: Todd and Julie Chrisley are professional con artists who have made a living by jumping from one fraud scheme to another, lying to banks, ripping off suppliers and evading taxes at every turn," they added.

The Chrisley family's closeness to Trumpism.

Two of the couple's children, Savannah and Chase Chrisley, had their own series, spun off from the original, which ran for three seasons on USA Network.

Savannah is a podcaster and influencer who campaigned for Trump and even spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention, where she claimed that her parents had been persecuted by "crooked prosecutors" and that the US has a "two-faced judicial system." "Because of our public profile and our conservative beliefs, they accused my parents of fraud, when in fact we were defrauded by a dishonest business partner," she said then, and assured that this partner was granted immunity in the case.

The young woman recently appeared on the program of Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law, on Fox News, in which she claimed that her parents were persecuted for their political beliefs and said that her case was "eerily similar" to the accusations the president had faced.

"Both prosecutors were Democrats, they made donations to Democratic candidates," he said. "At trial, we knew it was game over," he added, as picked up by the network .

After the Chrisleys' pardon became known, a White House spokesman said in a statement that Trump is "always happy to give a second chance to deserving Americans, especially those who have been unfairly singled out and overly prosecuted by an unjust judicial system."

Trump's pardons

As soon as he took office in January, Trump granted pardons and commutations of sentences to nearly 1,600 people who were prosecuted for various crimes committed as part of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol.

The presidential pardon included those who committed misdemeanors, those who violently assaulted police officers, broke windows or vandalized congressional offices, as well as those who were convicted of felonies such as seditious conspiracy.

"They've been in jail for a long time already," Trump said. "These people are destroyed," he assured.

But, over the months, the president also granted pardons to several friends, supporters or donors. On Monday, he granted a pardon to Scott Jenkins, a former Virginia sheriff who was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of fraud and bribery charges.

The president wrote that Jenkins and his family "were dragged to HELL by a corrupt DOJ (Department of Justice) and used as a weapon by Biden," the agency noted .

The president also pardoned Paul Walczak, a Florida healthcare executive jailed on tax charges whose mother helped expose the contents of a diary kept by Ashley Biden, daughter of former President Joe Biden. And, in April, he pardoned Nevada Republican Michele Fiore, who was awaiting sentencing on federal charges that she used money intended for a statue honoring a slain police officer for personal expenses, including plastic surgery.