Convicted reality stars Todd & Julie Chrisley have opened up about their custody of their granddaughter Chloe amid their legal troubles.
The pair were sentenced to 12 years and 7 years in prison, respectively, after a jury found them guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States of America, conspiracy to execute bank fraud, and tax fraud. Based on the conviction, fans assumed that the Chrisleys would lose custody of Chloe, whom Todd’s estranged son Kyle shares with Angela Johnson.
The Ongoing Custody Speculations Sadden Todd & Julie Chrisley
In case you missed it, the Chrisleys gained full custody of the ten-year-old in 2016 and legally adopted her a year later — which made their lives easier until their indictment in 2019. Since then, the question of who will look after the little girl has been on everybody’s lips.
Even though it was reported that the Chrisleys’ daughter Savannah was Chloe’s latest custodian, the girl’s biological mother threw a wrinkle in that when she divulged her intention to “go back to court” and bring Chloe back home. Johnson claimed that even though she was yet to file any official papers in court, she was still the sweet girl’s “biological mom.”
Johnson had previously shared custody of her toddler with her grandfather for some parts of 2016 after Kyle lost custody, and she got arrested for reportedly “filing a false application for Medicaid assistance.” On the other hand, her baby daddy lost custody of their child due to his drug addiction.
With Johnson’s plans now public knowledge, the “Chrisley Knows Best” stars exclusively issued a statement to PEOPLE that began, “Todd and Julie are saddened by the unfortunate and misleading narrative currently being portrayed in the media regarding Chloe.”
Jessica Doyle, the family lawyer the convicted couple used during their adoption process for their grandbaby, also told the outlet that Johnson’s public statements were “simply not legally correct or even valid.” She stated:
“I handled the formal adoption of Chloe by Todd and Julie Chrisley. Angela Johnson’s parental rights were terminated when she voluntarily surrendered her parental rights to Todd and Julie Chrisley on March 24, 2017. She has had no contact with the minor child since 2015.”
The attorney further reiterated that Todd and Julie are not only Chloe’s custodians but also her “legal parents through adoption,” Doyle concluded that Johnson’s public statements were “simply not legally correct or even valid.”
The unbelievable statements that Doyle is referring to would be Johnson’s claims that her kid’s grandparents played a part in her 2017 arrest. Per The Blast she also weighed in on Savannah having custody of Chloe, stating:
“I mean, as far as Savannah goes with Chloe, I don’t think it’s right because at the end of the day, my thing is, I’m her biological mom. I was cut out of her life. I didn’t walk away from her. I was pushed out of her life and they wanted me to forget about Chloe, and they wanted Chloe to forget about me, like I don’t exist.”
The mother-of-three claimed that if roles were reversed, she would not keep her daughter from the other side of her family. She also stated that Todd moving her daughter to Atlanta was “going too far.”
Todd himself posted a screenshot of Doyle’s statement via Instagram, prompting a favorable response from two of his kids. While Savannah wrote, “FOREVER [red heart emoji],” Lindsie added, “OUR baby [red heart and clapping emojis].”
The Atlanta Residents Might Lose Two Of Their Homes Amid Legal Woes
Soon after the Chrisleys got sentenced, The Blast noted that they would each serve a 16-month probation term after their prison sentences ended. The couple also had to figure out how to pay off $17.2 million in damages.
Todd and Julie were ordered to pay the sum by Judge Eleanor Ross of the United States District Court in Atlanta in relation to their $36 million fraud scheme. Insiders asserted that the simplest way for the “Chrisley Confessions” podcast hosts to get the money up would be to sell off their two Nashville-based houses, which will supposedly bring in roughly nine million dollars.
One source said they would have to give up the homes because maintaining them in the future would be a problem for the couple.