Todd and Julie Chrisley‘s lawyer issued a statement about the legal adoption of Todd’s granddaughter, Chloe Chrisley.
The little girl’s biological mother Angela Johnson is trying to regain custody of her 10-year-old daughter after Todd and Julie were recently convicted of tax evasion and fraud.
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Chloe’s biological father is Todd’s eldest son, Kyle Chrisley, whom he shares with ex-wife Teresa Terry.
Kyle, 31, lost custody of Chloe when he was arrested in 2013 and charged with assault. He also battled drug addiction.
Johnson shared custody of Chloe with Todd and Julie in 2014, but she lost custody following her arrest for defrauding Medicaid and food stamps, according to Us Weekly.
Todd and Julie legally adopted their granddaughter in 2016. Now Johnson is claiming she was “pushed out” of Chloe’s life and she wants her back.
However, the Chrisleys’ lawyer Jessica Doyle, who helped them with the adoption process, revealed in a statement on Tuesday that Johnson’s claims are “simply not legally correct or even valid.”
Doyle said the Chrisleys legally adopted Chloe after Angela “voluntarily surrendered her parental rights to Todd and Julie Chrisley on March 24, 2017.”
“She has had no contact with the minor child since 2015,” Doyle said.
She said the former reality TV stars “don’t just have custody of Chloe,” they are her “legal parents through adoption.”
“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.
The couple was found guilty of income tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy in June. Last month, Todd was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Julie was sentenced to serve seven years in prison.
They must surrender to prison officials in January 2023 after spending the holidays with their family.
Their daughter Savannah, 25, (pictured center) will be legal guardian of her brother Grayson, 16, (left) and Chloe, while their parents are doing time in federal prison. The Chrisleys also have a son, Chase, 26.
