Who are the Chrisleys, the reality TV family at the center of the federal bank and tax fraud case?

• Todd and Julie Chrisley have been on trial on federal bank and tax fraud charges for two weeks.
• They are accused of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and tax evasion.

Todd and Julie Chrisley, reality TV stars from Atlanta, Georgia, have been on trial accused of federal bank and tax fraud since mid-May.

But before their names were making national headlines because of the trial, the couple rose to reality TV fame in 2014 with the premiere of their reality TV show, "Chrisley Knows Best."

The show centered around Todd Chrisley, a real estate mogul, self-made millionaire, and father who set off to open a department store with his real estate company, Chrisley & Company. While the department store never panned out, Vice News reported that at the time of the show's launch, Todd Chrisley felt "fashion was his calling."

Todd Chrisley then shifted the focus of the USA reality series to focus on his business and his family, comprised of his wife, Julie, and five children, Lindsie, Kyle, Chase, Savannah, and Grayson.

"While their lifestyle is over-the-top and their personalities are larger-than-life, the Chrisleys are a very close-knit family who are refreshingly honest and genuinely funny," a spokesman for USA Network said ahead of the show's premiere, the New York Daily News reported.

For the first half of the series, the family lived in a 30,000-square-foot mansion north of Atlanta and then relocated to a $3.4 million home in Nashville, Tennessee, Bravo reported at the time.

Todd Chrisley even boasted of spending upwards of $300,000 on clothing and accessories in a year for his seven-person family.

A history of legal troubles

In 2012, Todd Chrisley filed for bankruptcy protection for nearly $50 million. People reported at the time of the filing that Todd Chrisley had claimed $4.2 million in assets but had racked up nearly $50 million in debt.

One of Todd Chrisley's lawyers at the time, Robert Furr, told People that the bankruptcy filing was a result of a real estate development loan that had failed.

A later investigation from Channel 2 Action News showed that Todd Chrisley had filed the bankruptcy protection in Florida, despite the family admitting they had never lived there. Todd Chrisley eventually moved the filings to Georgia.

In 2017, WSB-TV in Atlanta first reported the Chrisleys had filed no tax returns in Georgia in all of the years they had lived there and, at the time, owed the state nearly $800,000.

Though Todd Chrisley had declared himself a resident of Georgia on several court filings, as well as made the information widely public, he never filed income in the state.

In 2018, Todd Chrisley sued Homebanc Mortgage Corporation, alleging that a "former business partner" forged Todd's name on home mortgage documents, RadarOnline reported. Todd Chrisley said his dealings with his ex-partner forced him to file for bankruptcy protection in 2012 and that he wasn't aware of the mortgage until years later.

On trial for federal bank and tax fraud

The Chrisleys were indicted by a Georgia grand jury in 2019 on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and tax evasion.

Just after the indictment, Todd Chrisley took to Instagram to accuse his former business partner, Mark Braddock, of causing the family's financial troubles.

In opening statements in the Chrisleys' grand jury trial, the couple's lawyer blamed all bank fraud and tax evasion on Braddock, who told the FBI he committed bank fraud on the Chrisleys' behalf.

Prosecutors have alleged that the Chrisleys and their accountant submitted fake documents and fabricated their wealth to banks when applying for loans between 2007 and 2012.

In an example prosecutors showcased in court documents, an unnamed "co-conspirator" sent an email to a bank that copied Todd Chrisley. Prosecutors said the email contained an attachment showing a false financial statement that made it appear as though Todd Chrisley had $4 million in a Merrill Lynch account.

Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Todd Chrisley didn't have money at Merrill Lynch at the time, and when he did open an account there, it never had more than $17,000 in it.

"As a result of false representations like these, a number of banks issued the conspirators millions of dollars in loans, much of which Todd and Julie Chrisley used for their own personal benefit," the indictment read.

Assistant US Attorney Annalise Peters alleged in her opening statement on May 17 that the Chrisleys not only submitted fake documents that implied they had greater wealth than they did, but alleged that the couple also "burned" through the $30 million they received in loans on luxury items.

While the prosecution rested its case in the Chrisleys' trial on May 26, the court case is ongoing.