ET has learned that the 'Chrisley Knows Best' stars surrendered themselves to the FBI office in Atlanta Wednesday morning.
UPDATE: ET has learned that Todd and Julie Chrisley appeared in court in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, and have entered a plea of not guilty.
During the court hearing, the reality TV stars were granted $100,000 unsecured bond, ET has learned.
According to a source familiar with the hearing, Todd and Julie were ordered to turn in their passports, effective immediately. In addition, ET has learned that the couple's travel is restricted to middle Tennessee and North Georgia districts. Furthermore, ET understands that the couple must give notice to their probation officers if they need to travel to California to tape their reality TV show. Todd and Julie were not in handcuffs in the courtroom during the hearing.
In a statement to ET, Todd and Julie's attorneys, Bruce H. Morris and Stephen M. Friedberg, said they believe the couple will be "completely exonerated."
"For quite some time now, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia has been conducting an investigation of Todd and Julie Chrisley based for the most part on the demonstrably false allegations of a former officer of a company they owned jointly," the statement began. "We saw the results of this effort yesterday -- an indictment against Todd, Julie, and their accountant that relies largely if not entirely on emails that we know Todd never sent but rather were fabricated by this former employee."
"This individual, identified in the indictment only as 'Co-conspirator A,' first approached federal authorities in 2012, claiming he had evidence that Todd had been trying to avoid paying his taxes. What the authorities didn’t know, at least initially, was that he had been fired by the Chrisleys after they discovered he had been falsifying documents, forging their signatures, bugging their home, and intimidating other employees into covering up what amounted to a multi-million-dollar embezzlement scheme. These and many other criminal misdeeds were detailed in a federal RICO suit that the Chrisleys filed against him in 2012. Ironically, it was this lawsuit that sent him to the U.S. Attorney’s office. He wasn’t looking for justice but for revenge and his “evidence” against Todd consisted mainly of falsified documents," the statement continued.
The statement concluded: "Now, seven years later, the government has granted this individual immunity from prosecution for his own crimes and used his false allegations to bring an indictment against the Chrisley. We have no doubt that if this case ever reaches a courtroom, Todd and Julie will be completely exonerated. But in the meantime, their reputation will be sullied by a shamefully unjustified prosecution based on testimony of a dishonest source who has somehow managed to successfully mislead prosecutors."
Todd, meanwhile, told local Atlanta news station WSB-TV, "We stand in our faith, and we stand in what we know is right. We are fortunate to have the counsel that we have, and our family will stick together, and we'll walk this road because we know that the good Lord will hold our hand and take us through."
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Todd and Julie Chrisley are taking action and moving forward.
ET has learned that the Chrisley Knows Best stars turned themselves in to the FBI office in Atlanta on Wednesday on federal tax evasion charges.
According to a source, the couple drove from Nashville to Atlanta late Tuesday and stayed in the city overnight before surrendering themselves to the FBI around 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
An additional source tells ET that although Todd and Julie are "extremely nervous," they're also "happy in a way that it's coming to a head so they can successfully get this behind them."
Todd and Julie are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday around 2:30 p.m. ET.
Despite their current legal troubles, the couple's popular USA Network reality show, Chrisley Knows Best, is still scheduled to air for the remainder of its seventh season.
The couple was indicted by a federal grand jury for tax evasion on Tuesday, and Todd denied any wrongdoing in a lengthy Instagram post. Amid the drama, a source says USA is respecting the legal process and expects the back half of season seven of Chrisley Knows Best to air this fall, as planned. The first half of the show's seventh season -- 10 episodes -- already premiered in May.
ET has reached out to USA, but the network has declined to comment.
Hear more in the video below.
(This story was originally published at 11:23 a.m. PT)
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