Attorney Jay Surgent speaks with ET about a path forward for the reality stars after their December 2022 sentencing.
Savannah Chrisley has "every intention" of paying her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley's, restitution amid their incarceration, the couple's lawyer tells ET.
Jay Surgent of Weiner Law Group is the Chrisley's newly-appointed counsel, and spoke with ET about the current conditions he says Todd and Julie are facing behind bars. He also said there is path forward after the Chrisley Knows Best stars' December 2022 sentencing.
Todd and Julie were convicted on fraud charges in November 2022 and reported to prison in January. Todd is serving his 12-year prison sentence in Pensacola, Florida, while Julie is serving a seven-year sentence in Lexington, Kentucky. They are both appealing the conviction.
Additionally, Todd and Julie were ordered to pay more than $17 million in restitution as part of their conviction.
"I think Savannah, while it's not her job to make restitution on behalf of her parents, she has every intention," Surgent told ET. "I've spoken to her a number of times about it. She has every intention to do everything she can do to make restitution on behalf of her parents from the outside."
Surgent noted that the plan is "unusual."
"Usually children, while they love their parents, can only do so much. Savannah happens to be in a situation that she's very creative, she has a unique talent and she's a great interviewer," he added of the Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley podcast host. "She's gonna do well towards that end as far as earning money and being able to help with restitution."
Although Surgent did not disclose a specific list of projects ahead for the 25-year-old Chrisley Knows Best star, it was announced on Monday that she'll compete in the upcoming season of FOX's Special Forces: World's Toughest Test alongside Tom Sandoval, Dez Bryant, Tyler Cameron, Blac Chyna, Brian Austin Green, Robert Horry, Erin Jackson, Bode Miller, Jack Osbourne, Tara Reid, Kelly Rizzo, JoJo Siwa and Nick Viall.
Still, amid Savannah's efforts to support her parents, Surgent said that the court order for restitution following the Chrisley's conviction missed the mark.
"In this case, I think they got it totally wrong," he said of the sentencing. "If they want people to make restitution, they should obviously -- if they have a prison term, it should be reasonable. It should be subject to home confinement. They're not going anywhere, they're under the criminal sentencing guidelines by federal government considered category one. They're not flight risk, there's no violence involved. If they're gonna pay back restitution, how could they do it while they're sitting in prison?"
Now, Surgent is primarily focused on getting "a correction" to the Chrisley's alleged living conditions and on their pending appeal.
Last week, Savannah and Chase Chrisley made headlines when they took to the Unlocked podcast to say that their parents are being kept in "inhumane conditions" while serving time in prison.
"I would like to say that they're doing well, but they're not," Surgent told ET. "First of all, anybody incarcerated is not doing well because they're restricted of their freedom. But the problem in this situation is that, because of their celebrity status, I think that they've been singled out."
"I don't want to absolutely say that they've been discriminated against as a result of their celebrity status, [but there are] certain things that they've had to endure while being incarcerated, [that] they've been subject to, that need to be corrected," he added.
"It's 2023 and people should not have to live in inhumane conditions," he said. "It's absolutely ridiculous. It shouldn't be tolerated... We need prison reform in the United States of America."
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