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Heartbroken. Todd and Julie Chrisley broke their silence over the drama surrounding the custody of their adopted daughter, Chloe, after the couple was sentenced to prison for fraud.
“Todd and Julie are saddened by the unfortunate and misleading narrative currently being portrayed in the media regarding Chloe,” the couple said in a statement to People on Wednesday, December 7.
Earlier this month, news broke that Chloe’s biological mother, Angela Johnson, is trying to regain custody of her 10-year-old daughter following the Todd and Julie’s recent convictions. Chloe’s biological father is Todd’s eldest son, Kyle Chrisley, whom he shares with ex-wife Teresa Terry. (The exes also share daughter Lindsie, 33.)
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Kyle, 31, lost custody in 2013 after getting arrested and charged with assault. Johnson, for her part, had shared custody of the little girl with Todd and Julie in 2014, but two years later, she was arrested for allegedly defrauding Medicaid and food stamps, which is when Todd, 53, and Julie, 49, officially took over.
The TV personalities, who wed in 1996, legally adopted their granddaughter in 2016. Johnson, however, is now claiming she was “pushed out” of Chloe’s life and wants her back.
The Chrisley Knows Best stars’ lawyer Jessica Doyle, who they worked with during Chloe’s adoption, revealed in a statement on Tuesday that Johnson’s claims are “simply not legally correct or even valid.”
The family law attorney explained that she knows firsthand that Todd and Julie have proper custody of Chloe. (The duo also share three children of their own: Chase, 26, Savannah, 25, and Grayson, 16.)
“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,” Doyle said. “She has had no contact with the minor child since 2015.”
The lawyer pointed out that the former USA Network stars “don’t just have custody of Chloe,” they are her “legal parents through adoption.”
Todd and Julie made headlines in 2019 when they were indicted after being accused tax evasion. The couple was found guilty in June on all charges, including tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy. The real estate mogul was sentenced to 12 years in prison while his wife must serve seven years.
Amid their legal woes, Johnson came forward and told TMZ on Monday, December 5, that she was “in the process” of filing paperwork to regain custody of her daughter. “I want her home,” Johnson said at the time. “She deserves to be home.”