Path: Xl.tags.giganews.com!local-2.nntp.ord.giganews.com!news.giganews.com.POSTED!not-for-mail NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 05 Apr 2024 19:29:05 +0000 User-Agent: NewsTap/5.3.5 (iPhone/iPod Touch) Cancel-Lock: sha1:O309nFECNS/s0WOhB/SdHgufosY= Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv,alt.tv.reality Subject: Re: Imprisoned Reality Star Todd Chrisley Slandered Georgia Revenue Agent, Must Pay Her $755,000, Jury Finds Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit From: BTR1701 References: Message-ID: <5iadnW-7MamczI37nZ2dnZfqn_YAAAAA@giganews.com> Date: Fri, 05 Apr 2024 19:29:05 +0000 Lines: 84 X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com X-Trace: sv3-57VaQ/qCfw/m5uo8PdLso43DPYEzhrkm3ChxyumNSpDETPIMBtEHv48DbBjKwAeTnIliUsbdLGB1GJt!/RH52ZPikpr7AYn616Mr1LCr2Kzlo2jjG4snBpyOJpK44CPwpk1+AwQqw0NIrWgTuxVP2bAkLF0G X-Complaints-To: abuse@giganews.com X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.40 Bytes: 5685 Ubiquitous wrote: > Former reality TV star Todd Chrisley – who is already in prison for financial > crimes – was just ordered by a federal jury to pay a Georgia Department of > Revenue (GDOR) agent hundreds of thousands of dollars for defamation. > > DOR investigator Amy Doherty-Heinze claimed in court documents that Chrisley > “began a social media campaign against the GDOR and certain of its employees, > contending that the investigation was illegal and improperly motivated,” > according to documents obtained by WSB-TV. Chrisley “began attacking” the > agent, “accusing her of a multitude of crimes and wrongdoing.” > > On Thursday, a federal jury determined Chrisley was responsible for libeling > and slandering Doherty-Heinze, and ordered him to pay the agent $350,000 in > compensatory damages and $170,000 in punitive damages, in addition to > attorney’s fees. In total, Chrisley now owes Doherty-Heinze around $755,000. As long as the award was for defamatory things Chrisley said directly about the woman, okay, but not for what he said about the GDOR. First, since when can government agencies even be defamed in the first place? Second, it's our 1st Amendment right to say whatever shit we like about the government. And third, we're getting dangerously close to being liable for defamation merely for saying "I didn't do it" in response to an accusation or maintaining your innocence after a conviction because it implies that your calling your accuser a liar. > > In November 2022, Chrisley and his wife, Julie, were sentenced to prison > after being convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, tax > fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. In addition, Julie was > also convicted on a charge of wire fraud and obstruction of justice. > > Judge Eleanor L. Ross of U.S. District Court in Atlanta sentenced Todd to 12 > years in prison followed by three years of probation, CNN reported. Ross > sentenced Julie to seven years in prison followed by three years of > probation. In addition, the couple will have to pay restitution for their > crimes, though the exact amount is unknown at this time, The New York Times > reported at the time. > > Todd Chrisley made a fortune through Chrisley Asset Management, a real estate > company he founded in Georgia, The Daily Wire previously reported. The > success of the business combined with Todd’s personality and large family > made him a perfect candidate for reality TV, which led to “Chrisley Knows > Best.” > > Even before the Chrisleys began their reality show in 2014, they had > financial problems. In 2012, Todd filed for bankruptcy protection. Explaining > the filing, his lawyer told People, “He guaranteed a real estate development > loan and it failed. He was on the hook for $30 million. If he hadn’t had that > happen, he would have been fine, financially.” > > The Department of Justice (DOJ), however, explained that the Chrisleys — > prior to their reality show — “conspired to defraud community banks in the > Atlanta area to obtain more than $30 million in personal loans.” > > With the help of a business partner, Mark Braddock, the Chrisleys “submitted > false bank statements, audit reports, and personal financial statements to > banks to obtain the millions of dollars in fraudulent loans,” the DOJ wrote. > > In 2017, the couple’s problems expanded. WSB-TV reported at the time that the > Chrisleys owed nearly $800,000 in taxes to the state of Georgia and had > declared their residency on numerous public records before moving to > Nashville, Tennessee, in 2016. > > In 2018, Todd sued Homebanc Mortgage Corporation, Radar Online reported, > alleging a “former business partner” forged Todd’s name on the mortgage and > made some payments on his behalf. Todd also claimed that the same business > partner was the reason he had to file for bankruptcy protection in 2012. > > In 2019, the Chrisleys were indicted. After a three-week trial in 2022, the > couple was convicted. > > In January, the couple was awarded a $1 million settlement after suing the > former Director of Special Investigations of the state’s Department of > Revenue, alleging he targeted the family after they were cleared of a state > tax evasion charge. > > The couple is still appealing their fraud and tax evasion convictions. > > -- > Let's go Brandon! > >