Todd’s children, Julie Chrisley, hope the court hearing will be a step towards bringing the convicted reality TV stars home

Lawyers for reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who are in prison after being convicted on federal charges of bank fraud and tax evasion, on Friday challenged aspects of their convictions and sentences in a federal appeals court.

The Chrisley family rose to fame with their show “Chrisley Knows Best,” which chronicled the exploits of their close-knit family.

But prosecutors said they participated in a widespread bank fraud scheme and hid their earnings from tax authorities while showcasing their extravagant lifestyle.

Peter Tarantino, the accountant they hired, is also serving time in prison.

He wants his conviction overturned and a new trial granted.

On Friday, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta heard arguments from the three’s lawyers.

Two of the Chrisleys’ children, Savannah and Chase, were joined by more than a dozen supporters in the courthouse hallway.

Savannah Chrisley spoke to reporters after the hearing, saying she spoke to her parents Thursday night and that they are “doing the best they can” and she hopes Friday’s hearing will be a step toward getting them home.

“We have all come together and are closer than ever,” she said of her family.

The Chrisleys were initially charged in August 2019.

In June 2022, a jury found them guilty of conspiring to defraud community banks to obtain more than $30 million in fraudulent loans.

They were also convicted of tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the IRS, and Julie Chrisley was convicted of wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

Todd Chrisley, 56, is at a minimum-security federal prison camp in Pensacola, Florida, and is scheduled for release in October 2032, while Julie Chrisley, 51, is at a facility in Lexington, Kentucky, and is scheduled for release in July 2028. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.

Tarantino, 61, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and intentionally filing false tax returns.

He is being held at a minimum security federal detention camp in Montgomery, Alabama, and is scheduled for release in September next year.

Prosecutors said the Chrisleys waived their responsibility to repay the loans when Todd Chrisley declared bankruptcy.

While they were bankrupt, they started their own reality show and “flaunted their wealth and lifestyle to the American public,” then hid the millions they made from the show from the IRS, prosecutors said.

Alex Little, the Chrisley family’s attorney, argued that the IRS officer lied on the stand about the couple still owing taxes at the time of trial when she learned no taxes were owed and that prosecutors knowingly filed that false testimony and failed to correct it.

“They relied on information that they knew was incorrect,” Little said.

Prosecutor Annalize Peters rejected that a*sertion, saying that when the IRS officer testified, she and prosecutors were unaware of some of the tax payments made by the Chrisleys.

But she said the couple still owed some taxes at the time.

Circuit Judge Robin Rosenbaum, who questioned both sides during the hearing, seemed skeptical of the idea that prosecutors conspired with an IRS officer to provide false information, saying the evidence presented by the defense in a brief “appears to be pure speculation.”

Lawyers for the Chrisley family also say the trial judge was wrong to allow some evidence without requiring prosecutors to prove it was not obtained during an illegal search.

They say prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence to convict the Chrisleys of tax evasion and conspiracy, showing only that they used a common practice in the entertainment industry to obtain income from acting.

They also say prosecutors failed to present any evidence that Julie Chrisley engaged in bank fraud. They say that the judge made a mistake when he ordered the return and confiscation of the property.

His lawyers say Todd Chrisley should be acquitted of tax evasion and conspiracy charges and given a new trial on the remaining charges.

Instead, the appellate court must remand the case to the trial court for a hearing on his claims that the IRS employee lied and evidence was improperly admitted.

Julie Chrisley should be acquitted of five bank fraud charges, her lawyers say.

They also say her sentence on the remaining charges, including $17.2 million in restitution she and her husband were ordered to pay, should be vacated and she should be re-sentenced on those charges.

Prosecutors say there was sufficient evidence at trial to support the charges and the jury’s verdicts, and that the evidence was properly obtained and admitted.

There was also no evidence that the IRS officer’s testimony influenced the jury’s verdict, Peters argued.

Even if Chrisley’s family eventually pays what they’re owed, “subsequent actions do not undo the crime,” Peters said.

Don Samuel, Tarantino’s attorney, said his client was harmed by his trial with the Chrisley family, and urged the court to overturn Tarantino’s conviction and remand his case to the lower court for a new trial.

Samuel said that while Tarantino did certain things that ended up facilitating the Chrisley family’s fraudulent behavior, there is no evidence that he intentionally did anything to facilitate that behavior.

Samuel said the scope of the charges against the Chrisley family was “dwarfed by the evidence” against Tarantino and prejudiced the jury pool against him.

Peters said there was strong evidence proving Tarantino’s personal involvement, and he could not prove actual, convincing evidence that he was harmed by his trial with the Chrisley family.