Todd and Julie Chrisley have already shaved off more than a year of their sentences — and their attorney thinks they can knock off even more time

• Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley are currently serving time for tax and bank fraud.

• The couple have each had about two years knocked off their sentences for good conduct.

• Their lawyer, Jay Surgent, hopes to cut off more time under new sentencing guidelines.

Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley are currently serving prison time after they were both convicted of fraud last year — but their lawyer is hopeful he can cut additional time off the couple's already-reduced sentences.

The couple, who are best known for their roles on the USA Network series "Chrisley Knows Best" and its spin-off "Growing Up Chrisley," were sentenced in Atlanta federal court in November 2022 for defrauding banks of more than $30 million by providing fake financial statements that made it look as if they were wealthier than they were.

In November 2022, Todd was sentenced to 12 years, while Julie was sentenced to seven.

But both Chrisleys have already had their scheduled release dates moved up by several months since they reported to prison in January.

Now, Todd's release from FPC Pensacola is slated for early 2033, which is about two years short of 12 years, according to federal prison records, Insider previously reported. Meanwhile, Julie's release from FMC Lexington is set for mid-October 2028, which is one year and three months short of 7 years, records show.

The Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on the specifics of the Chrisleys' reduced time, citing "privacy, safety, and security reasons."

The 2018 First Step Act allows eligible federal inmates up to 54 days of "good conduct time" off their sentence for each year of the sentence imposed by the court. Inmates can also wrack up time off for any time served before their sentence or for completing "evidence-based recidivism reduction" programs while in prison.

"Without a doubt, Todd and Julie are model incarcerated individuals, who received exorbitant sentences," Jay Surgent, the family's attorney, told Insider. "I believe Todd is down to 10 years and Julie is now at 5 years," Surgent added.

Surgent is hopeful that new sentencing guidelines will shorten the Chrisleys' sentences even further.

Federal sentencing guidelines operate on a point system that is based on a person's prior criminal history and the offense level of their crime, Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, explained to Insider.

In cases of fraud, the offense level is based on the amount of fraud, which is why the Chrisleys were hit with hefty initial sentences, Rahmani said.

"They stole a lot of money from a lot of people," he told Insider.

Earlier this year, the US Sentencing Commission proposed an amendment that would tweak current federal sentencing guidelines and apply negative two points to inmates who have no prior criminal history, paving the way for significant reductions in standard sentencing, Rahmani said.

Congress still has the power to reject the sentencing commission's proposed changes. If Congress chooses not to act, the new credits will go into effect beginning in November.

"Two point credits are coming for [Todd and Julie], with the implementation of Sentencing Guidelines Reform on Nov. 1, 2023, which will further reduce their sentences," Sturgent said of the Chrisleys.

But Rahmani said questions remain about how the new policy will be implemented with regard to federal prisoners who are already in the system.

Changes to sentencing guidelines have historically been prospective, meaning they apply to all new incidents, Rahmani said. Should the new points system also be applied retroactively, thousands of inmates would be eligible for reduced sentences, creating a bureaucratic nightmare for the government.

The Justice Department objected to the policy being applied retroactively, writing in a June letter that such a move would "extend far beyond the Commission's past practice."

But the Sentencing Commission voted in August to allow for retroactive sentence reductions, saying more than 7,000 incarcerated individuals in federal prisons would be eligible "zero-point offenders" with a possible average sentence reduction of 17.6%.

Congress has until November to reject the commission's proposal. If the government body fails to act, courts can begin considering petitions for sentence reductions and ordering reduced terms by February 2024.

The Chrisleys, neither of whom have a prior criminal history, would be among those eligible for such sentence reductions.

But Rahmani said he is skeptical the reality television stars will benefit from the coming changes.

"There's a presumption that unless it's specifically set by statute, which means Congressional law, that it doesn't apply retroactively," Rahmani said. "It's a big leap of faith. But you never know."

Read the original article on Insider