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All good. Todd Chrisley spoke out for the first time after he and his wife, Julie Chrisley, were cleared of tax evasion charge in Georgia on Tuesday, October 8. The Georgia Department of Revenue dropped the $2 million claim after they found out they owed less than $77,000. The reality star couldn’t help but get emotional as this chapter has finally come to an end. Scroll through the gallery below to see what Todd had to say about the incident.
In August, the 50-year-old confessed on Instagram that he and his wife may be indicted for tax evasion after a former employee betrayed him, he claimed. “I’ve never talked about this publicly before, but there’s been a cloud hanging over Julie and our entire family for the past seven years,” he wrote at the time.
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
The Real Story
“It all started back in 2012, when we discovered that a trusted employee of ours had been stealing from us big time. I won’t go into details, but it involved all kinds of really bad stuff like creating phony documents, forging our signatures and threatening other employees with violence if they said anything,” he claimed.
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
Trouble
The Chrisley Knows Best star continued to explain how they got into this mess to begin with. “We even discovered that he illegally bugged our home,” he claimed. “Needless to say, we fired the guy and took him to court — and that’s when the trouble started.”
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
Games
Todd noted what their former employee did to their family. “To get revenge, he took a bunch of his phony documents to the U.S. Attorney’s office and told them we had committed all kinds of financial crimes, like tax evasion and bank fraud,” he claimed. “That got their attention all right, but once we had a chance to explain who he was and what he’d done to us, they realized it was a bunch of nonsense and sent him on his way.”
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
Curveball
But Todd and his brood weren’t out of the woods just yet. “So far so good — except that our former employee didn’t give up,” he claimed. “Somehow, he persuaded a different set of investigators at the U.S. Attorney’s office not only to reopen the case but also to grant him immunity from prosecution for his own crimes and bring charges against us.”
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
Uh Oh!
He continued, “As a result, it looks like later this week, Julie and I are going to be named in a federal indictment charging us with tax evasion and probably a bunch of other financial crimes as well.”
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
Telling His Truth
The dad of five — he shares three children with Julie: Chase Chrisley, 23, Savannah Chrisley, 22, and Grayson Chrisley, 13, and has two kids from a prior relationship: Lindsie Chrisley, 30, and Kylie Chrisley, 28 — wanted to make sure he got the chance to explain his side of the story to his fans, friends and family. “I’m telling you all of this now because we have nothing to hide and have done nothing to be ashamed of,” he said. “Not only do we know we’ve done nothing wrong, but we’ve got a ton of hard evidence and a bunch of corroborating witnesses that proves it.”
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
Thankful
“We want to express our gratitude to everyone who helped place us where we are today in our lives,” he added. “We thank you for our support, and we will continue to work every day to earn your respect, loyalty and admiration.”
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
Happy Day
Now, Todd and his family are able to move on with their lives since they were cleared of any wrongdoing on October 8. The Department agreed the Chrisleys owed no taxes for 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The Georgia native spoke out for the first time on Facebook where he got candid with his followers about how he was feeling. “Since March 2017, we have lived with this storm of lies, fraudulent misrepresentations and betrayal regarding the false claims alleged against us with the Georgia Department of Revenue,” he began. “We’ve endured press standing outside our homes, agents confronting our kids in restaurants and constant leaks to the press to bolster the lies that started this investigation, false claims of millions of dollars owed because the bigger the number, the more people want to read about it, only to resolve the matter for pennies on the dollar.”
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
His Advice
The businessman went on to warn people living in Georgia. “We have always relied on the excellent advice of accounts,” he said. “This settlement and what we’ve been put through by the Georgia Department of Revenue should be a wake-up call to all taxpayers in the state of Georgia. These folks have the authority to raid your homes, businesses, confront you in public and harass your friends and family and do it with confidence because they have no accountability unless you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to prove your innocence.”
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
Winning
However, Todd and his family were able to come out on top. “I thank God for walking us through this part of the storm with grace,” he shared.
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
Shout-Outs
“I thank our attorneys, Chris Anulewicz and Mike Bowers, for closing the matter out and bringing to light the corruption within the Georgia Department of Revenue.”
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
Stronger Than Yesterday
Of course, the TV personality gave a sweet shout-out to those that were on his side through the ordeal — and also the haters. “For everyone that has believed in us from the beginning and also those who didn’t because your comments have made us stronger.”
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
On Their Side
Naturally, fans sent well-wishes to the Chrisley crew. One person wrote, “I’m so happy it’s over for you and your family. Enjoy watching you all.”
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Courtesy of Todd Chrisley/Instagram
In Good Spirits
A second person said, “I knew it all along! I had no doubt … Someone with your kind of attitude, truthful talk, sharp tongue and being Southern … All good traits … Onwards and upwards! Love y’all from Texas!!!” A third chimed in, writing, “I am glad that chapter is closed, and you can move forward! Love and all that you do! Thank you for the laughs! We need more Todd’s in this world! Just sayin’.”
