'Chrisley Knows Best' reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Atlanta for bank fraud and tax evasion.
If found guilty, Todd and wife Julie face up to 30 years in prison, according to federal guidelines.
The couple, along with their Roswell, Georgia-based accountant Peter Tarantino were named as defendants in papers filed yesterday afternoon with the US District Court of Northern Georgia.
In the 12-count indictment, the Chrisleys are accused of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and tax evasion.
Tarantino is accused with them of conspiracy to defraud the United States and two counts of aiding the filing of a false tax return.
The main evidence comes from emails Todd Chrisley sent to a business partner in his Georgia-based company Chrisley Asset Management (CAM) asking to falsify financial documents.
The lawsuit gave an example, from November 5, 2007, how the trio tricked a bank into believing the Chrisleys had $4 million in an account with Merrill Lynch in order to obtain a loan.
According to court documents, 'When the bank employee requested account statements, Co-conspirator A sent Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley a fabricated bank statement showing that Todd and Julie Chrisley had $776,509.52 on deposit at Merrill Lynch.
'In response, Todd Chrisley told Co-conspirator A, 'you are a f****** genious [sic]!!! Just make it show 4 mil+.'
In reality, the lawsuit claims, the Chrisleys did not set up a Merrill Lynch account until 2008 and the account never had more than $17,000 in it.
However...the Chrisley's are ready to fight!