Todd and Julie Chrisley’s courtroom saga is gradually morphing into a reality show in and of itself. Mark Braddock, a former employee of Todd Chrisley, testified on Monday that he and Todd became close in the early 2000s, he began working for Chrisley shortly afterward and that he and Todd Chrisley had formed a “relationship of an intimate nature,” which started in 2003. Todd and Julie Chrisley of Chrisley Knows Best, are facing bank and wire fraud charges in week two of their courtroom trial.
After the family fired Braddock in 2012, he went to the FBI and told officials that he committed financial crimes on Chrisley’s behalf. Todd Chrisley alleges Braddock stole from his family. The government granted Braddock immunity for his admitted crimes in exchange for cooperation in the case. The immunity agreement does not prohibit other federal attorney’s offices or state governments from prosecuting Braddock on separate charges. Prosecutors asked Braddock on Monday if he was aware that he would be charged with perjury for lying to the jury, to which he said, “there is no doubt in my mind.”
The Truth, According to Mark Braddock
USA Network
On Monday, according to Insider, Mark Braddock testified that he met Todd Chrisley at a school function for their children in the early 2000’s and the two became friends two years later when they lived in the same neighborhood. Braddock added that he previously worked for Todd Chrisley’s Asset Management Company (CAM), which managed and sold foreclosed properties, and helped the company grow from two employees to 60. Braddock testified that after Chrisley sold the company in 2005, he burned through more than $3.5 million from the sale to buy Bentleys, other luxury cars, designer clothes and more.
He also testified to using Microsoft Word to create fake documents inflating the amount of income that the Chrisleys had and the amount of money in their account to make it appear they were wealthier than they were to acquire loans on their behalf. When prosecutors asked why would he commit fraud for Todd Chrisley, Braddock replied:
Two jurors dropped their mouths open in disbelief when Braddock described Chrisley’s hair care routine of flying out twice a month from Atlanta to Los Angeles to get his hair cut and colored and stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel even though he was drowning in debt. Braddock further testified that Chrisley needed $500,000 to $600,000 a month to stay even, had three housekeepers who worked five days a week and had high American Express bills. Eventually, the loan scheme fell apart after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took control of quite a few of the community banks the Chrisleys were allegedly defrauding. Hence, enabling them to see the inconsistencies between applications.
“I was complicit in giving him what he needed. We had a personal relationship of an intimate nature. I would do whatever he needed to get done.”
However, Todd Chrisley’s lawyer, Bruce Morris, refuted those claims alleging that while Braddock was running CAM, he produced false documents that his client knew nothing about and provided them to banks in order to obtain loans in Chrisley’s name. And to cover his tracks, Braddock would send emails to Todd Chrisley as himself and then respond to himself from Chrisley’s email account. Morris added that when Todd Chrisley discovered what Braddock was doing, he fired and him and told him he was going to jail. Julie Chrisley sued Braddock, accusing him of stealing money. Nevertheless, Assistant US Attorney Thomas Krepp showed the jury emails between Todd Chrisley to Braddock discussing how to best “create” personal financial statements that met the standards of lenders whom he was seeking loans from. The trial is expected to take another three weeks.
