Todd Chrisley took a big L behind bars this week after being ordered by a Georgia court to pay a whopping $755,000 in a defamation lawsuit. 

As Chrisley Knows Best fans know, Todd and wife Julie Chrisley are currently serving prison time for tax evasion and fraud crimes– 10 years for Todd and six years for Julie, following the couple’s sentences being reduced in September.  

Documents obtained by People show that in July 2021, Amy Doherty-Heinze filed a defamation complaint against Todd, alleging that he began “attacking [her] and accusing her of a multitude of crimes and wrongdoings” in 2020, stemming from when Todd and Julie were being investigated by the Georgia Department of Revenue (GDOR) in 2017. 

Amy claimed that although she was “not involved” in Todd’s investigation, the former reality TV star “began a social media campaign against the GDOR and certain of its employees”–- including Amy herself–- “contending that the investigation was illegal and improperly motivated.” 

While Amy served Todd a “refraction demand” in July 2021, he reportedly failed and refused to retract “any of his false and defamatory accusations,” leading her to file the defamation claim. Amy noted that Todd allegedly “acted in bad faith” and caused her “unnecessary trouble and expense” by both making and refusing to retract his statements. 

Last week, a jury ruled in favor of Amy, ordering that Todd pay her $755,000–- $350,000 in compensatory damages, $170,000 in punitive damages and $235,000 in legal expenses. 

Despite her client losing the defamation lawsuit, Todd’s attorney Leesa Guarnotta said both she and Todd were “pleased the jury recognized that some of [Todd’s] statements were not defamatory,” as Amy was awarded only a fourth of the damages she had requested.

She also noted that Todd plans to appeal the ruling. 

“We are concerned about the state of the First Amendment where such a case could make it to trial in the first place,” she said in a statement. “We are optimistic about our appeal.” 

Meanwhile, Amy’s legal team noted that Amy was “particularly happy to be vindicated by a jury.” 

“The jury found on all three counts that the statements were false and defamatory, as well as finding that [Todd] acted with actual malice and specific intent to cause harm,” Nicole Wade, lead counsel for Amy told People. “In short, Amy was completely vindicated by a jury for all of [Todd’s] false accusations against her.” 

Todd’s legal loss comes just months after he and Julie received a $1 million settlement from the State of Georgia for their 2019 federal lawsuit against Joshua Waites, former Director of Special Investigations of the state’s Department of Revenue. 

While Todd and Julie were ultimately cleared of their tax evasion charge in Georgia, the couple went on to take legal action against Joshua in October 2019, claiming he “specifically targeted” their family and abused his position in order to “violate the rights of innocent citizens for reasons that have more to do with securing publicity and money for his office than with enforcing the law.” 

In addition to Todd’s plans to appeal the ruling on his defamation lawsuit, both he and Julie are currently appealing their criminal convictions. The pair are set to have their case heard in oral arguments on April 19. 

RELATED STORY: Savannah Chrisley Says She Was “Tone-Deaf” Prior to Parents Todd & Julie Chrisley Being Incarcerated: “Don’t Be Like Me” 

(Photos: USA Network)