'They built an empire based on lies.' Why everyone is talking about Todd and Julie Chrisley.

Todd and Julie Chrisley are reality TV royalty in the US.

Their television show, Chrisley Knows Best, is USA Network’s "most-watched current original series" according to NBC Universal, with an average of 1.8 million viewers, and has just been renewed for a 10th season.

The show follows "multi-millionaire real estate developer and entrepreneur Todd, his wife Julie, and their children, who are a picture-perfect Southern clan who have everything money can buy," as per the synopsis.

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A post shared by Todd Chrisley (@toddchrisley)

The Chrisley's are so popular that a spinoff show about their children is going into its fourth season, and a dating show hosted by Todd was recently announced. 

But earlier this week, Todd, 53, and Julie, 49, were sentenced to a combined 19 years behind bars for conspiring to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million USD in order to fund their lavish lifestyle.

On Monday, Todd was sentenced to 12 years in prison for financial fraud and tax evasion, while Julie was sentenced to seven years for her involvement in the crimes.

Both were also sentenced to three years supervised release after serving their prison time.

According to the Department of Justice, the couple used money from the loans for "luxury cars, designer clothes, real estate and travel" even after they filed bankruptcy.

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A post shared by Julie Chrisley (@juliechrisley)

In an episode of their Chrisley Confessions podcast that was taped before their sentencing and aired this week, Julie told her husband: "Everyone knows that we're living through a nightmare."

She said how she's focusing on not living in fear but struggling to do so.

"I do feel like I live in fear," she said.

The second half of season nine of Chrisley Knows Best is still scheduled to air, starting June 23, 2023. 

In the show’s trailer, Todd describes himself and his wife as people from a "small rural town" who now live in a "gated neighbourhood" outside Atlanta. 

Their home is 30,000 square feet, they spend at least $300,000 per year on clothes and Todd earns "millions of dollars a year".

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A post shared by Todd Chrisley (@toddchrisley)

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A post shared by Todd Chrisley (@toddchrisley)

Before sentencing Todd pleaded for his wife to not receive time behind bars. 

"As I'm sure you can tell this is an enormously sad day for my family," he said. "My wife Julie should not be punished."

The 53-year-old added that he always intended to pay the money back.

The couple were convicted in June of conspiring to defraud banks and evading taxes. They were found guilty of faking audits, bank statements and their personal finances to obtain $36 million USD in loans. 

"The Chrisley's have built an empire based on the lie that their wealth came from dedication and hard work," prosecutors wrote a pre-sentencing court filing. 

"The jury’s unanimous verdict sets the record straight: Todd and Julie Chrisley are career swindlers who have made a living by jumping from one fraud scheme to another, lying to banks, stiffing vendors and evading taxes at every corner."

The judge added why their sentences are so lengthy.

"I've never heard any acceptance of any crime," US District Judge Eleanor Ross said on Monday. "I've never really heard any admission to any wrongdoing or any remorse." 

"I have no reason to doubt that both Chrisley's have good hearts, [but] I can not ignore the greed and flamboyance in this case."

Todd spoke about their financial troubles vaguely in August 2022.

"We stand in our faith and what we know is right fortunate to have the counsel we have and we’ll walk this road because we know the good Lord will take us through," he said during an August 2022 episode of the Chrisley Confessions podcast.

"I got lost when I couldn’t tell the difference in my self-worth and my net worth," he continued. 

"And the bigger my net worth became, the less I focused on my self-worth because everything was being built around that net worth."

"You become a slave to the things that you thought were going to bring you peace. So I got lost in that and for my whole life because I think I was too ignorant - and when I use the word ignorant [I mean] I [didn’t] know that I understood how to differentiate self-worth and net worth," he added.

Reports suggest the couple will appeal the sentencing, and their shows will continue (besides Todd's new dating show) for now.

Feature image: Instagram/@juliechrisley

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