ATLANTA ( Associated Press) – A federal trial for reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, including bank fraud and tax evasion, is set to begin Monday in Atlanta.
The test is going on just a few days after E! announced it was moving forward with a new dating series, “Love Limo”, hosted by Todd Chrisley, and weeks after the announcement that the reality shows “Chrisley Knows Best” and “Growing Up Chrisley” would be aired on USA Network. and have been updated on E!, respectively.
Chrisley was initially charged in August 2019 And a new indictment was filed in February of this year. Prosecutors allege that the couple submitted forged documents to banks while applying for the loan. The indictment states that Julie Chrisley also submitted a false credit report and fake bank statements when trying to rent a home in California, and then refused to pay rent a few months after the couple began using the home. refused.
Prosecutors say Chrisley also used a film production company he controlled to hide proceeds to prevent the IRS from collecting taxes owed to Todd Chrisley.
Both Chrisley are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, five counts of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, and one count of tax fraud. Julie Chrisley has also been charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of obstruction of justice.
Peter Tarantino, an accountant hired by Chrisley, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and two counts of knowingly filing false tax returns. He is set to go to trial with Chrisley.
the chrysalis And Tarantino has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been freed on bond.
US District Judge Eleanor Ross has said the jury will be selected on Monday and a preliminary statement is expected on Tuesday.
“Chrisley Knows Best” follows the tidy, boisterous Chrisley family. The series was renewed for a 10th season by USA, while the spinoff “Growing Up Chrisley”, featuring the Los Angeles-based Chrisley kids Chase and Savannah, was renewed for a fourth season.
The family had moved to Tennessee by the time the indictment was filed, but the criminal charges stem from a time they lived in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, prosecutors have said.
Before the initial indictment was announced in August 2019, Todd Chrisley posted a lengthy statement on Instagram denying any wrongdoing. A former employee who was fired in 2012 after Chrisley discovered he was stealing from them, bringing fake documents to the US Attorney’s office and telling prosecutors that Chrisley had committed financial crimes, Chrisley wrote.
Prosecutors have said Chrisley instructed the former employee to falsify documents. The indictment says the scheme lasted from at least 2007 to 2012 and involved submitting fake bank and financial details to financial institutions to obtain loans worth millions of dollars, most of which they used for their personal gain. . The indictment states that he tried to hide his involvement by falsely claiming that he did not know that his then employee had submitted false documents.
The indictment states that Julie Chrisley sent a fake credit report and bank statements to a California property owner in July 2014 while trying to rent a house that had far more money in her accounts than she had in her accounts. . In October 2014, a few months after he started using the house, he refused to pay the rent, prompting the owner to threaten to evict him.
Prosecutors said the money from his television show went to Chrisley, a company called 7C’s Productions, but he didn’t declare it as income on his federal tax return. The indictment says the couple failed to file or pay their federal income taxes on time for several years.
The indictment states that after Tarantino told the IRS that Tarantino helped with concealment of income and lied about his tax return, Todd Chrisley didn’t have enough money to pay off his tax debt since 2009, while his Money came into the production company, which he spent on personal purchases. The indictment says he also filed false corporate tax returns for 7C’s productions to make it appear that the company was not making money.
The indictment states that after federal agents served a grand jury subpoena on 7C’s productions in February 2018, Julie Chrisley submitted a fraudulent document.
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