Todd Chrisley Ordered To Pay $755,000 In Defamation Lawsuit While Completing Prison Sentence For Fraud

Todd Chrisley has been ordered to pay $755,000 in damages and legal fees after losing a defamation suit filed by a Georgia Department of Revenue investigator.

Amy Doherty-Heinze filed a complaint against Chrisley in July 2021, accusing the reality television star of launching a social media campaign in which he accused “her of a multitude of crimes and wrongdoing” following the 2017 investigation into his finances, per People.

She also accused him of launching a “social media campaign against the GDOR and certain of its employees, contending that the investigation was illegal and improperly motivated.” She filed the defamation claim after he “refused to retract any of his false and defamatory accusations.”

The court ruled in favor of Doherty-Heinze on April 4, ordering Chrisley to pay $520,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, an addition $235,000 in lawyers fees.

This comes as Chrisley and his wife, Julie, are both completing prison sentences for fraud.

Todd is completing a 12-year sentence at FPC Pensacola after he was convicted in 2022 of bank fraud, tax evasion and conspiring to defraud the IRS. Julie, who was also convicted of wire fraud and obstruction of justice, is currently completing a six-year sentence at FMC Lexington.

The couple and their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, have been vocal about their alleged mistreatment in the prison system.

Todd’s attorney claimed his facility was “plagued by bad plumbing, possible mold, and no A.C. to help combat the brutal heat” last summer.

Savannah alleged that the prison has tried to stop her from visiting her father. She also claimed that the prison staff had been retaliating against her father after he spoke out about the poor conditions, even accusing them of going so far as planting cellphones and drugs to get him relocated to another facility.

Despite their struggles, the Chrisleys have began teaching classes in trauma and finances to their fellow inmates to commute their sentences.

Their release dates have already been moved up by well over a year since they began their prison sentences in January 2023.