Todd and Julie Chrisley win $1 million settlement in lawsuit alleging investigative misconduct

Todd and Julie Chrisley were awarded $1 million after suing a Georgia tax agent for investigating what the couple called “false” allegations about them.

“We have been saying for months that the criminal case against the Chrisleys was very unusual and had real problems,” the family’s attorney, Alex Little, said in a statement to People Tuesday, announcing the news of the settlement. encouraging”.

Little added, “It’s almost unprecedented that one branch of government is paying money to defendants while another branch is fighting to keep them in prison,” referring to his clients’ ongoing prison sentences. for bank fraud and tax evasion.

In their 2019 lawsuit, the former “Chrisley Knows Best” stars accused Joshua Waites, former director of special investigations at the Georgia Department of Revenue, of “specifically targeting” them in the tax evasion case against them by the state.

After being exonerated by Georgia, Todd and Julie sued Waites, describing their situation as a “shocking example of how an out-of-control public servant can abuse his office and violate the rights of innocent citizens for reasons that have more to do with with security “. publicity and money for his position rather than enforcing the law.

The couple further alleged that Waites focused his “efforts and desire” on them as well as Todd’s ex-daughter Lindsie Chrisley.

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Todd and Julie claimed at the time that Waites targeted Lindsie in an attempt to get her to reveal compromising information about her father and stepmother’s finances.

The lawsuit also included “incriminating” text messages that Waites allegedly sent to Lindsie about Todd and Julie.

A representative for the Georgia Department of Revenue later insisted that its “investigators were fair and impartial” but acknowledged that the Chrisleys’ revelations were “disappointing.”

While Todd, 54, and Julie, 51, were exonerated by the state, a federal jury found them guilty in 2022. The reality stars reported to prison last January to begin their collective sentences of 19 years, which have since been reduced.

The Chrisleys’ attorney did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment, nor did the Georgia Department of Revenue.