Loading summary
Transcript264 lines
- [00:00]
Sharita Mathis
With a $5 meal deal with new McValue.
- [00:03]
Savannah Chrisley
You pick a McDouble or a McChicken, then get a small fry, a small.
- [00:06]
Sharita Mathis
Drink, and a four piece McNuggets.
- [00:09]
Savannah Chrisley
That's a lot of McDonald's for not.
- [00:10]
Sharita Mathis
A lot of money.
- [00:12]
Savannah Chrisley
Prices and Participation may vary. McDouble meal, $6 in some markets for a limited time only. Welcome back to this week's episode of Unlocked. And today is a really special episode. We've been trying to get this done for a while now, honestly, and life has just been crazy. But I have on Sharita Mathis. Welcome. And for those, you guys are gonna be like, okay, who is this? She was actually in with my mom. For how long?
- [00:38]
Sharita Mathis
Eight months.
- [00:39]
Savannah Chrisley
Eight months. So she got to know my mom during that whole process and now she has a book coming out and it's called Letters to my daughters from the Inside.
- [00:49]
Sharita Mathis
Yes.
- [00:50]
Savannah Chrisley
And she sent me some of them and I just started sobbing. I was like, oh, my God. Like, until you've gone through it, you really don't. No. So that is coming out April 1st. April 1st, April 1st. We're not sure when this is going to air, but you will be able to hopefully pre order the book and then go and get it as soon as it comes out. But. So you were in Lexington, Kentucky? Yes, f. Well, first off, okay. FMC Lexington, the camp. It's not necessarily a medical facility, is it?
- [01:24]
Sharita Mathis
It is attached to a medical facility. So the medical facility is in the main prison, which is the male's prison. So we're in this little tiny building. Looks like an old school house. That's why I always tell people, like, I'm in an old dorm.
- [01:37]
Savannah Chrisley
Literally.
- [01:38]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah, it looks like an old school that's on the same campus as the men.
- [01:43]
Savannah Chrisley
Okay.
- [01:43]
Sharita Mathis
So. Yeah, but there's no medical facility inside. There's a little clinic, but the. The medical part really is the men.
- [01:51]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah, exactly. And that's the biggest thing is like, hey, you're not getting. People love to say, oh, she's getting proper medical. No, that's not what it is. So what. How long were you in?
- [02:03]
Sharita Mathis
I was. I served exactly 12 months and eight days. So I entered in. I self surrendered in August of 2022. I believe your mom came top of January 23rd. Yes.
- [02:16]
Savannah Chrisley
Look at you. You got a good memory.
- [02:18]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah. I remember the day she came. I was standing in the window and I watched. She came in an suv. Yeah. I saw the trucks because everybody obviously it was a talk around.
- [02:28]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [02:29]
Sharita Mathis
The campus and people were looking. I think she came around 11 noon, somewhere around there. I was in the TV room or the. I'm sorry, the computer room. And everybody started flocking over to the window, and we saw her. And I think, you know, she obviously went over to report to R D. So.
- [02:46]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah, well, that's the. I think that's the scariest part about, like, because y'all have to report to the men's facility, right?
- [02:54]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah. You go in. I don't know if you remember. You probably remember. You probably remember just as well as I. You were there.
- [03:01]
Savannah Chrisley
So I didn't. I went and dropped my dad off.
- [03:03]
Sharita Mathis
You dropped your dad off. Okay. They reported the same day.
- [03:05]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [03:06]
Sharita Mathis
That they had to report the exact same time. Okay.
- [03:08]
Savannah Chrisley
We had to divide and conquer.
- [03:10]
Sharita Mathis
So. Yeah. You. You actually park at a. Like a tree or. I did. Parked at this tree on the men's side. And you wait for officer to tell you. You know, they said, well, you know, what's your name? You give them your name. You kind of wait and you just kind of like sitting there until they come back and get you. And then I always say, like, it's a very sentimental walk. And when your mom's going to take that walk, she probably already took it when she came out for the. For her transfer, maybe. But you walk through this long gate and has real tall fence by w.
- [03:46]
Savannah Chrisley
Obviously, it seemed like it was never going to end.
- [03:48]
Sharita Mathis
That was very long. And then you kind of. When you get through that first gate and it shuts behind you and it's like, boom. You know, at that point, it's no turning back. It's. It's. It's you and you and you. It's you and you. And I remember walking through the gate, it closes. They buzz you. And then you get to the. Another one. They have to open another door. And the officer, you know, they ask you, what's your name? You tell them. And then you go in and you. You know, you start your jo. Journey.
- [04:19]
Savannah Chrisley
And what was that first day like? Like, can you remember her walking in and just. I can only imagine that she was just.
- [04:27]
Sharita Mathis
The first time I saw your mom, I was sitting in the telephone line, and the telephone line is close to medical. And I saw her. She was. She was moving quick. Your mom, she walks fast around that camp. And I remember sitting in the tv. Sorry, the t. Television. Television. I keep saying computer. In the computer. Telephone. Line.
- [04:48]
Savannah Chrisley
Telephone.
- [04:48]
Sharita Mathis
And I saw your mom coming up. I think she was going to go to medical. And she had her head down. She wasn't really talking to anybody. She smiled but you could tell she was in deep thought. She was thinking about getting to where she had to go. And a few people spoke to her, but she was. To her. She was by herself and kind of just with herself. She was real quiet. It wasn't until later when she started playing cards because she. We stayed on the same. No, she was on the second floor at that time. She was down in the room. I think it was like 12 people or something in her room. But she would come up to the third floor and she would sit in the hallway with some ladies, and she was. She was a little card shark.
- [05:29]
Savannah Chrisley
Oh, yeah.
- [05:30]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah. She was playing cards. And so she played cards with some girls I was friends with, and they said, oh, you know, we got to introduce you to Julie. And so we spoke. But they were, like, deep into their game.
- [05:41]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [05:42]
Sharita Mathis
It wasn't until later, when we started working together, that we connected.
- [05:47]
Savannah Chrisley
Okay. And then it seems like. I mean, I know she's had her breakdowns, but it seems she. She got in there and she did it.
- [05:56]
Sharita Mathis
Oh, yeah. I don't. I know. Like, she probably. We probably started working together within her first two or three weeks. Yeah, it was. She hadn't been there long, but she. I'm gonna say she was like, I'm not even gonna think about this. Like, I'm just. I'm just gonna do what I gotta do. She's worried about you all. Yeah, she was worried about. She loves you all. Yeah. You are her world.
- [06:20]
Savannah Chrisley
She is. That's what I tell everybody. Like, there was never a time where I was like, where is Mom? Where, like, is she gonna be at school today? Is she gonna. Like, she was always there. Always. And that seems like that's. That's just her biggest thing is just worried about her kids. Like, forget about her. Forget. She can do what she needs to do. But, like, her K1 focus, that would.
- [06:40]
Sharita Mathis
That definitely. That. That came across from the time that I met her. I remember the first time I went to her room. I think she was sharing a book that was. One of her friends had sent in for her. Maybe you sent it, but one of the friends had written the book. And I went in and I saw the board and she had all your pictures on there. She was like, this is my baby.
- [07:02]
Savannah Chrisley
This is my.
- [07:02]
Sharita Mathis
She was telling me who everybody was. And then, you know, from there, from working together, we just became, you know.
- [07:09]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [07:10]
Sharita Mathis
Close. I remember asking her, I finally. I said, tell me your story. Like, just tell me how. Like, from the beginning.
- [07:19]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [07:19]
Sharita Mathis
And she started telling me about the Very first property that your dad and her had gotten, and they were sleeping on the floor. I think he did a lot of the work in the house.
- [07:29]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah, yeah.
- [07:30]
Sharita Mathis
And she told me, like, this, the evolution and how they build.
- [07:33]
Savannah Chrisley
Wash dishes in the bathtub sink because they were redoing kitchen and. Or the bathtub. Yeah.
- [07:40]
Sharita Mathis
And then I think there was. I think they had a relationship with someone at the bank and they needed people to clean the houses. And then she started you all cleaning them?
- [07:50]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah, we cleaned those houses. That was like, as kids, like during the summer or like, nope, we're gonna go do a trash out and we're gonna.
- [07:58]
Sharita Mathis
Yes.
- [07:58]
Savannah Chrisley
The amount of. Oh, you know, when people, like lose a home to foreclosure, they don't care what condition they leave it in.
- [08:06]
Sharita Mathis
Right.
- [08:06]
Savannah Chrisley
So that was just. I saw some things I should have never seen. This is disgusting. It was probably. It was awful. But we did it.
- [08:15]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah. She told. And then she talked about how, you know, she went in. She started from there and then she went into. You were in the pageants?
- [08:23]
Savannah Chrisley
Oh, yeah.
- [08:24]
Sharita Mathis
And then you went to all of it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. She told me. I. I think honestly, I could be wrong, because I don't know. But I think from what I gathered and I want to. I believe she told me. I think I was like one of the first people that just asked her, like, tell me the whole thing. Like, I wanted to, like, just how did you get not here in prison, just in your life, like, where, you know, where you are today? And so she was talking about you'd won the pageant and you were in. You all were in New York trying to do a fashion line. And from there, I guess the individual ended up being a showrunner.
- [08:57]
Savannah Chrisley
Yes.
- [08:57]
Sharita Mathis
And then that's how you got the shows. Yeah. And we used to talk a lot. And then there was.
- [09:02]
Savannah Chrisley
That's what you need, though. Like, when you're in there, you gotta find people who you can have conversations with and intellectual conversations. And you have to, or else you'll go crazy.
- [09:13]
Sharita Mathis
You will. Yeah.
- [09:14]
Savannah Chrisley
That is crazy.
- [09:15]
Sharita Mathis
She was. One day I was talking to two girls. One actually, both of them were in for. They had drug charges. And one of the girls was pretty much like, when I get out, I'm going back to selling drugs. This is what I'm gonna do. Because this is the only life I've ever known. And it's the only thing that can make me this amount of money to live this certain lifestyle. And so I'm like, no, you. There's gotta be other things that you can. You know, you don't want to come back here. And it is like, at the perfect moment, your mom walks in the room, and I'm like, julie, tell me. Tell her there's something else that she could tell there's something else she could do. And so she was like, well, you know, how much. How much money were you making, you know, doing what you were doing? So she told her, I think it was like I was making. She's making, like $30,000 a run or something. And your mom is like, well, you can do this and this. And she's, you know, going through all the. All the ideas, and she starts off with real estate. So we got into this real estate conversation because your mom had also taught a real estate class.
- [10:20]
Savannah Chrisley
That's. She told me. Huh?
- [10:22]
Sharita Mathis
She taught a real estate class. And she. She was telling me, and she was like, yeah. I mean, you know, she was talking about how your dad, he's the charismatic person, builds the relationships and all of that. And she often spoke about how you're just like. She's like. She's just like her daddy. And she told me. She said, you, you know, you should look into it. Because at this point, I'm thinking, what am I going to do with my life whenever I leave here? Because I was a university, a faculty member. You know, I had a nice career. And she was like, you should look into it. You're smart. You can do it. When I got home, I had $12,000 left after everything had been dwindled off. And my neighbor was a real estate investor. And I walked. He saw me outside, and he was like, where you been? And I was like, you know, I got into a little situation. I've been gone. He's like, I know. I hadn't seen you. And I said, were you still doing the real estate invest? And I was like, I learned about it. I was in prison with Julie Chrisley. And she told me, this is what I need to do. You know, I was out 10 days, and I flipped my first house because your mama told me to do it.
- [11:35]
Savannah Chrisley
No way. Oh, my gosh. That is amazing.
- [11:41]
Sharita Mathis
And that is how I got myself back up after flipping that house with my neighbor. And I tried. And this is what's so crazy. He didn't know how much money I had. Savannah. He came to me, he said, you can do this house. I said, how much is it going to cost? Guess how much it was.
- [11:56]
Savannah Chrisley
What?
- [11:57]
Sharita Mathis
12,000. It was my last. And I said, oh, my God. I was sitting there departing with like, this is All I got, I've been gone. I lost everything. And I gave it to him. I gave it to him. And we flipped the house.
- [12:10]
Savannah Chrisley
And what did you end up making?
- [12:12]
Sharita Mathis
I think total was like 60 grand.
- [12:15]
Savannah Chrisley
Oh, my God.
- [12:16]
Sharita Mathis
That's how I. That's how I boosted myself back.
- [12:20]
Savannah Chrisley
That is amazing.
- [12:23]
Sharita Mathis
And there's two other. There's one other girl. I'll say. One who we were incarcerated with. She's. She's doing it too.
- [12:31]
Savannah Chrisley
Holy cow.
- [12:32]
Sharita Mathis
And I'll be honest. It was your mom. She. I mean, I heard about it before and my neighbor had done it, but it was her like going through, telling me the story and like me just hearing her talk about that like it's possible. Yeah.
- [12:46]
Savannah Chrisley
If you're running a business, you know that every time you miss a call, you're leaving money on the table. When every customer conversation matters. I know for me, with real estate and good girl Rx, you can not miss a phone call. And you have to give customers the experience that they deserve. That's why you need Open Phone. Open Phone is the number one business phone system that streamlines and scales your customer communications. It works through an app on your phone or computer. So no more carrying two phones or using a landline. And yes, landlines still exist. With OpenPhone, your team can share one number and collaborate on customer calls and texts like a shared inbox. That way any teammate can pick up right where the last person left off. Keep response times faster than ever. Plus, with AI powered call transcripts and summaries, you'll be able to automate automate follow ups, ensuring you'll never miss a customer interaction again. OpenPhone is offering my listeners 20% off your first six months on openphone.com Savannah that's openphone.com Savannah. And if you have existing numbers with another service, OpenPhone will port them over at no extra charge. Open Phone no miss caused no miss customers again, they're offering my listeners 20% off. So go to open phone op.
- [14:16]
Al Ko
Business owners have to wear many hats. But mailing and shipping expert shouldn't have to be one of them. Hi, I'm Al Ko, CEO of Stamps.com and that's exactly why we're in business. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our country. And it's an honor to lead the stamps.com team that's focused on helping you thrive. We've helped over 4 million customers with a better way to manage mailing and shipping without having to waste time leaving the office. You can print stamps and shipping labels, manage tracking and even schedule Free carrier pickups, all from one simple dashboard. When you're running a business, every dollar counts and every second matters. That's why we're committed to delivering the best service, rates and solutions for your small business business. You give your best and stamps.com delivers the best in return. Go to stamps.com to sign up for a special offer.
- [15:15]
Sharita Mathis
So I'm thinking about parts of the conversation that we were talking about. You know, when she was. When we were talking to the girls, and she was like, how much? How much did you make? And she was like, 30,000. Your mom was like, ain't no money.
- [15:34]
Savannah Chrisley
I was like, damn. I was like, God.
- [15:38]
Sharita Mathis
I was like, so? I'm like, so tell me how much we thinking over here, Julie? I was like. And your mom was like, let me break this down.
- [15:47]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah, just your first flip.
- [15:51]
Sharita Mathis
I was like, oh, okay, you can do it. I was like, oh, yeah. I was like, it's a lot of work. But, you know, once you. Yeah. I was like, okay, that.
- [16:00]
Savannah Chrisley
And so also too. I can only imagine my mother when they're, like, having conversations about drugs. Like, your mom was like, are you crazy?
- [16:12]
Sharita Mathis
Your mommy's looking at me.
- [16:15]
Savannah Chrisley
No, your mommy's like, these bitches crazy.
- [16:17]
Sharita Mathis
She looking. She'd be like, what's wrong with them? She's like, that's some crazy. You know, it's like, julie, just let them have it. Let them have it. Just let them.
- [16:27]
Savannah Chrisley
Well, that's the thing, because there are. The majority in. There are dry.
- [16:30]
Sharita Mathis
There's a lot of drugs. Look, it's a lot of. That's. And I think, too, that was another. Because you always have, like this. Oh, you know, this whole. You got a white collar crime.
- [16:41]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah, It's.
- [16:42]
Sharita Mathis
I don't want to. It's not a versus thing.
- [16:44]
Savannah Chrisley
No.
- [16:44]
Sharita Mathis
But it definitely is always like a. You're in here. I know. Oh, you. A white collar crime. Like, and normally those sentences are a little bit lighter. But your mom's sentences and your dad says this is like a drug. This is what you normally see what we call football numbers when they start getting these double digits.
- [16:59]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [17:00]
Sharita Mathis
You know, they got Jersey level sentences.
- [17:03]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [17:04]
Sharita Mathis
And so.
- [17:05]
Savannah Chrisley
Which is. So that's a whole other thing in itself. Like, you see people in here, in there who are like repeat offenders, who are like. What do they call, like, when you're repeating the feds. Yeah. Like, career criminals literally is what they call them. And they get less time and it's like, make it make sense.
- [17:24]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah. And so your mom and I, because I think. Because we were, we had a commonality being.
- [17:31]
Savannah Chrisley
Because your charge was.
- [17:33]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah, it was a conspiracy.
- [17:35]
Savannah Chrisley
White collar. Yeah.
- [17:37]
Sharita Mathis
And so there was that connection there too, because it was. Okay, let's talk about. And then when you start looking at individuals who are in there that have crimes that have millions of dollars of restitution attached to it, we connect on this too.
- [17:54]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [17:55]
Sharita Mathis
You know, and so because.
- [17:57]
Savannah Chrisley
Do you have restitution?
- [17:58]
Sharita Mathis
2 million. 2 million.
- [18:01]
Savannah Chrisley
And how did they come up with that number?
- [18:05]
Sharita Mathis
So my charge again is conspiracy to commit Medicaid fraud.
- [18:08]
Savannah Chrisley
Conspiracy.
- [18:09]
Sharita Mathis
Conspiracy.
- [18:10]
Savannah Chrisley
So a conspiracy charge that shouldn't even.
- [18:13]
Sharita Mathis
I hate conspiracy charges. I hate conspiracy. Like, as soon as someone tells me they got a conspiracy charge, I'm just like, yeah. Gonna report. Yeah, that's what. Because it, it doesn't take much to get a conviction on a conspiracy charge. Conspiracy charge can be a con. You know, we're. We're having a conversation. I remember my attorney gave me the analogy. He said, let's say the two of us are sitting together and we talk about. We have a. You know, one of us has the idea to rob a bank. And you're like, oh, yeah, that, you know, that's okay. Let's talk about it. And you're having, you're talking about it and you decide midways. I'm not, I'm not, not going to go through with it. And the other person goes on and robs the bank because, you know, you didn't. You didn't whistleblow because you didn't tell it and you didn't form is, which is not a formal withdrawal. You didn't formally withdraw. You can get charged with the conspiracy and it doesn't require any abundance of evidence, you know, necessarily. Same thing with some of the, you know, cooperation with two people.
- [19:17]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [19:18]
Sharita Mathis
Can say that. You on a drug charge. I think, correct me if I'm wrong, because I know all the legal eagles out there gonna bash me if I don't get this right. Two people saying that you sold your ghost drugs. You. You're. You're gone.
- [19:30]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [19:31]
Sharita Mathis
So this doesn't require a lot to get a conspiracy charge convict, you know, get a conviction on conspiracy charge.
- [19:38]
Savannah Chrisley
That's crazy. There's like this. It's not this.
- [19:41]
Sharita Mathis
Well, it's not necessarily like a divide, but it is always a conversation. Like, you know, you'll hear comments. I heard comments like, oh, they got a. It's a white collar. You all don't get as much because a lot of the drug charges have mandatory minimums. And so a lot of the Individuals who are there on drug charges, they have those 10 year mandatory minimum sentences or some, you know, heftier time. And so a lot of times people would just say, you know, I should have. I should have just stole some money. I would, you know, I would. I would already be out. I would, you know. You know, there's always. There's always, you know, whatever y'all did.
- [20:19]
Savannah Chrisley
So y'all connected, because like I said, the majority are drug charges that are in there. And a lot of these. I mean, mom would tell me some stories. Like, there was one woman that, like, had tattoo, like, all these tattoos, whatever. And it. Like, she had kids and she wasn't excited to get out. For the kids, it was to go get more tattoos or to go do this or to go. And mom's like. Mom's like, I just don't connect with that.
- [20:44]
Sharita Mathis
Yes.
- [20:44]
Savannah Chrisley
She was like, every single day is a step closer to me getting home to my kids. And you. You had four daughters.
- [20:51]
Sharita Mathis
Yes.
- [20:51]
Savannah Chrisley
And how old were they when you went in?
- [20:53]
Sharita Mathis
So My youngest was 9, and then the other girls were in their 20s, so there. I think you and my oldest are close to the same age. Yeah. So I had. I was leaving a little one, similar to your situation, under the care of my mother and my father, who at the time he was ill. He was suffering from dementia.
- [21:12]
Savannah Chrisley
Let me see if this his mom. It may be charged for this. This call is from Julie.
- [21:21]
Sharita Mathis
Awesome. At any time, you may begin speaking now.
- [21:27]
Savannah Chrisley
Hello? Hey, honey. Hey. You okay?
- [21:30]
Julie Chrisley
Yeah.
- [21:30]
Savannah Chrisley
What you doing?
- [21:32]
Sharita Mathis
Julie Chrisley. Who is that?
- [21:35]
Savannah Chrisley
Sharita. Oh, my God. She doing my podcast. Oh, my gosh.
- [21:43]
Sharita Mathis
I'm so happy.
- [21:47]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [21:48]
Sharita Mathis
Oh, I love it.
- [21:50]
Savannah Chrisley
Yay. This makes me so happy.
- [21:53]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah.
- [21:54]
Savannah Chrisley
So you called, and I looked down. I was like, wait, it may be mom. Oh, my gosh.
- [21:59]
Sharita Mathis
I'm so happy. I love it.
- [22:02]
Savannah Chrisley
Also, you know, she flipped a house 10 days. Ten days after she got out. That makes me so happy. Huh? Love it. Y. All right.
- [22:14]
Sharita Mathis
I love you.
- [22:15]
Savannah Chrisley
Love you. And I'll get. Bye. All right. Love you.
- [22:17]
Sharita Mathis
Bye.
- [22:19]
Savannah Chrisley
What are the chances of that?
- [22:21]
Sharita Mathis
I know, right?
- [22:22]
Savannah Chrisley
What are the chances? She's almost out of minutes, so.
- [22:25]
Sharita Mathis
Oh, she's almost out of minutes because.
- [22:26]
Savannah Chrisley
You know, they did that.
- [22:27]
Sharita Mathis
They changed.
- [22:28]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [22:28]
Sharita Mathis
Which is at 300 now.
- [22:30]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah. 300. To disperse amongst all your kids, your parents, to 10. I was gonna say 110. One 10 minute phone call a day.
- [22:40]
Sharita Mathis
And you can't buy any more minutes because when you. When I was there, they were still with the COVID the cares act was still in place. So we were getting the 510 for free.
- [22:49]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [22:49]
Sharita Mathis
So the 300, are they free or are they paying for.
- [22:52]
Savannah Chrisley
I think they're free. If you're programming FSA. If you're. If you're FSA eligible, then you get the 300, but you can't buy anymore, which is crazy.
- [23:02]
Sharita Mathis
No, that's right.
- [23:03]
Savannah Chrisley
Like crazy.
- [23:05]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah.
- [23:05]
Savannah Chrisley
Oh my gosh. Okay, so that was wild. This episode of Unlocked is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game, shifting a little money here, a little there and hoping it all works out? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can be a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help you find options within your budget. Try it today@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. So when you went in, Your youngest was 9?
- [23:44]
Sharita Mathis
Yes.
- [23:44]
Savannah Chrisley
And how did that. Of your kids, would you say she was impacted the most?
- [23:51]
Sharita Mathis
I didn't tell her. I didn't tell her I was going. I told her I was going. I was working out of town. I couldn't tell her. I just could not bring myself to tell her. I didn't tell her till I came back.
- [24:06]
Savannah Chrisley
So she didn't know.
- [24:07]
Sharita Mathis
She thought I was working. I would do my video visits and she, I think she eventually said that one of her friends told her and that was what. That was my biggest fear. I was like, okay, she's nine. I just didn't know. I just didn't know how to. I just day after day, I just couldn't work myself up to say it.
- [24:29]
Savannah Chrisley
I have said that like before mom and dad left, they didn't touch any of the kids stuff. They didn't like. Cause the kids moved in with me and once they left and like part of me is like, why would we not. Why would you not have helped me move them over to my house and get them settled before you left? And like. But instead when they left, like I had to do all that, you know. But then on the flip side I'm like, I could not imagine as a parent looking at your child and like moving them to another home. And yeah, I just, I couldn't imagine.
- [25:07]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah, no. And then also because I was leaving and her dad had not gotten sentenced yet because my co defendant, like your mom is my ex. Well, my. It's not my ex husband but this is a previous relationship that my youngest Daughter. He was waiting to be sentenced. So he didn't get sentenced until after I did. Until after I had gotten already. I was already in Kentucky.
- [25:32]
Savannah Chrisley
And what did he get sentenced?
- [25:33]
Sharita Mathis
13 years.
- [25:37]
Savannah Chrisley
And did you get sentenced or did you enter into a deal?
- [25:40]
Sharita Mathis
I did a plea.
- [25:41]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah. Because you.
- [25:43]
Sharita Mathis
It was long. It had already been. I. The federal government or the investigators came to me in the mall, like, the week before the whole world shut down for covet. So during the middle of all the COVID chaos, I was going through the investigation I had just found out. So that kept delaying everything because the courts were closed and so on and so forth. So it drug for, like, I think two years, from the time that I found out I was under investigation until I was actually sentenced was two years. So it was just a long, you know.
- [26:23]
Savannah Chrisley
And in the midst of an already depressing time, you had that on top of it.
- [26:28]
Sharita Mathis
Yes. Yeah.
- [26:30]
Savannah Chrisley
And so your older kids.
- [26:33]
Sharita Mathis
Yes.
- [26:33]
Savannah Chrisley
How did. So did your husband. Or not your husband, but did your ex go in while you were in.
- [26:40]
Sharita Mathis
Yes. So I went in in August, and then he reported in January. So it was. It was. It wasn't staggering on purpose. It just happened because I actually wasn't supposed to go for sentencing until like, July. June or July. And then one day my attorney called and was like, yeah, you're on the docket for May. And I was like, wait a minute, that's two months earlier. And he was like, yeah, I just got a call. You're going in. I'm like, you can't push it back. He was like, I don't want to push it back. Let's just go ahead, because I don't. At that point, we'd already pushed it back, like, twice.
- [27:08]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [27:09]
Sharita Mathis
So when I went in May 22, May 25, 2022, and that's when I got sentenced to 22 months. And then they wanted me to report early, but my daughter's birthday was coming up, and we asked them could I wait until after her birthday. And they told me they wouldn't make me report until after her birthday, which was July 13. They didn't give me a set date. It just said, you won't have to report before then. I didn't find that I was leaving and where I was going to the day before I left.
- [27:39]
Savannah Chrisley
What?
- [27:41]
Sharita Mathis
So I found out on a Monday, and I was in Kentucky on Tuesday. But, you know, I always say, I wish from the day that I found out about the investigation, I wish it would have just took me in.
- [27:54]
Savannah Chrisley
That's exactly what mom said.
- [27:56]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah. I would have been. She'd be home by now. Right. It would be over.
- [27:59]
Savannah Chrisley
Because she said it's no quality of life. No, like, it is absolutely no quality of life whatsoever. And especially to, like, even the judge in our case, they got sentenced. It was right before Thanksgiving. So remember, we didn't plan anything for Thanksgiving because everyone had told us, like, you know, chances are they're gonna take them.
- [28:20]
Sharita Mathis
So they thought they were gonna get taken after the sentence.
- [28:22]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah. Like, from the courtroom. And because I'll never forget going in, they, like, handed over all their personal belongings. Like the. Our lawyer was like, just hand over everything because chances are you're gonna leave and. Yeah. Not when you got there, you didn't. No.
- [28:41]
Sharita Mathis
Oh, good. It was. It was. We broke for lunch.
- [28:44]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah, it was when we broke for lunch. All right. Yeah, that was. Yeah.
- [28:48]
Sharita Mathis
So this is because your mom went to trial? Because I remember she and I having a conversation. Why she, you know, why they decided to go to the trial. I was like, julie, you didn't just take a plea, you know, because.
- [28:59]
Savannah Chrisley
But what was crazy, though, is even their plea deals were high. Were high. And it's like, what? I think her plea was five years.
- [29:09]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah.
- [29:10]
Savannah Chrisley
And it's like. And dad's was maybe 10. I think so. Or some like. So it was something of that nature or. No, dad was 15. Dad's was 15 and hers was 5. What kind of plea is that? You know? But at the sentencing, the judge, because it was a few days before Thanksgiving and once she sentenced them, I just remember seeing their faces, too. I was like, I will never forget just watching tears just roll down their face. And the judge allowed them to report January 16th, I think it was. So they were sentenced in November. They didn't report till January. January. And Mom's like, it's a double edged sword, you know, like you're grateful for the holidays that you do get to spend, but every single day, it's like checking off a calendar of when you have to report. So she says the same thing of like, I just wish I would have gone.
- [30:10]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah, it's worked to me. The waiting and anticipation and not knowing is worse than being in prison. That is a prison. That is the prison.
- [30:19]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [30:20]
Sharita Mathis
Because you're. You're unsure. You don't know. Like, I remember those two years, similar to your mom, like, always thinking, every time my kids would have a birthday, am I gonna be here for the next birthday? Where am I going to be the next. Is this my last birthday with him for a while? How long? Like, you don't know. So you're just always living in a high state of anxiety and depression and just. It is the worst, like even now. And I'm speaking to a lot of women who contact me because I get a lot of people contacting me from my Tick Tock videos. And I always tell them, like, I know you probably don't want to hear this, but it is, you know, if they're getting ready to be sentenced, it's almost over. Like, I remember walking out of the court after I got sentenced and it literally felt like the sun was shining. Like it was like.
- [31:09]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah, because you knew.
- [31:11]
Sharita Mathis
Now I know now I can deal with it now. Now it's go time. Let me try to get my things in order. I have this little bit of time. I don't know exactly what day. I have a general idea. I got about two months. Something that was May. I knew I could. I was going to be out until my daughter's birthday, which was like 45 to 60 days later. Let me try to get my things in order. I know how much time. Roundabout. The First Step act had just started being implemented. So I knew that was there and this was the beginning. And I heard they still having issues.
- [31:43]
Savannah Chrisley
No.
- [31:44]
Sharita Mathis
I can't believe it.
- [31:45]
Savannah Chrisley
It's crazy. Literally there are all these men and women that are still sitting in prison six months to a year longer than they ever should. Like, they should have been home six months to a year ago and it's costing taxpayers upwards of a billion dollars.
- [31:58]
Sharita Mathis
That's. It's crazy. And especially the camp people like you might as well be home.
- [32:02]
Savannah Chrisley
Exactly.
- [32:03]
Sharita Mathis
You might as well just do that.
- [32:05]
Savannah Chrisley
Realize because if you wanted to, you could have walked out the door of that camp and no one was stopping you.
- [32:12]
Sharita Mathis
No.
- [32:12]
Savannah Chrisley
Now, the marshals would be after you at some point, but, like, they're not going to chase after you. You can literally walk out the front door.
- [32:21]
Sharita Mathis
There were stories about people. I wasn't there when this happened, but they were talking about, you know, there was a. Where we were located in this. In the field right across there used to be like, they. They have a carnival that comes every year.
- [32:35]
Savannah Chrisley
Yep.
- [32:35]
Sharita Mathis
And I remember them telling the story about some girls one time had left and gone to the fair. Gone to that carnival.
- [32:42]
Savannah Chrisley
Like, what?
- [32:43]
Sharita Mathis
And I think, what is it? Long as you come back within two hours or something, you don't get an escape charge. But to your point, you're. You're free. You're in the free public. There's nothing going to stop you from going out.
- [32:54]
Savannah Chrisley
So if that's happening again. Why aren't you serving your time at home? Why aren't you contributing to society by.
- [33:01]
Sharita Mathis
Paying your restitution or whatever it is? And then you have. I feel like that's another. You know, when you do have a white collar crime, a lot of times people often talk about, you know, well, the drug crimes get longer prison sentences, but a restitution is a sentence too.
- [33:16]
Savannah Chrisley
It is.
- [33:17]
Sharita Mathis
Because once I've done my time, now I have to come out and then continue.
- [33:22]
Savannah Chrisley
And so that's. I remember that's what we were talking about was the restitution side of things, of how they actually calculated that number.
- [33:29]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah. So they did ours based on the amount of billing that was submitted and the percentage of that billing that they thought was fraudulent.
- [33:38]
Savannah Chrisley
That they thought.
- [33:39]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah.
- [33:41]
Savannah Chrisley
So again, that's what's crazy is you see all these restitution amounts and you're like, how did you come up with it? This was not money that was stolen. This was not. You know, that's what's crazy to me.
- [33:53]
Sharita Mathis
And on my case, when I look at some of my co defendants and I look at my restitution is this amount. Their restitution is this amount. Theirs is this amount. None of our amounts are the same. So how. Why is mine this. But theirs is this and this one is this. Like, how did you determine.
- [34:10]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [34:11]
Sharita Mathis
You know, which part of this is gets, you know, that's my responsibility versus theirs.
- [34:18]
Savannah Chrisley
And that's what's crazy is they don't have to give you a reason, they don't have to give you evidence. They don't have to. It's just what we say goes.
- [34:27]
Sharita Mathis
Which is for me why I was so nervous about going the route. Like your parents going to trial.
- [34:33]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah.
- [34:34]
Sharita Mathis
Because I was like, huh, you know, at least I have the guideline, you know, you have the guidelines. But, you know, they can do an upward departure or down, they can go up or down those guidelines. And so that's when for me, the cost of it, the time, it had already been drug out. I wanted it to be over.
- [34:50]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah. Now you're moving on with your life.
- [34:53]
Sharita Mathis
Yeah.
- [34:54]
Savannah Chrisley
And so when. Well, it's like you say with upward and downward departures. It's like when mom went for resentencing, the judge continued to give her the same amount of time and added on two years to her probation.
- [35:07]
Sharita Mathis
Okay, so that's what I heard. I heard you. I saw it on your pod. I think the podcast that you mentioned, he added more probation.
- [35:14]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah. It was a woman.
- [35:15]
Sharita Mathis
What was the reason for adding the probation.
- [35:17]
Savannah Chrisley
Well, now the prosecutors are saying that, oh, that was just a mistake. So of course when the government does something wrong, it's a mistake, but if we did something wrong, it'd be intentional. They said it was. It was a mistake.
- [35:33]
Sharita Mathis
So they, they weren't supposed to add the extra.
- [35:36]
Savannah Chrisley
That's what now the prosecutors are saying. Because we filed the appeal on that and said that her sentence was retaliatory based off of all the crap that I've been saying. Because she said in the courtroom, you need to be more concerned with the well being of these children than you are spreading false information for podcasts and TV ratings. Like, yeah, I heard that you got.
- [35:56]
Sharita Mathis
A warden that's not too happy with you too, right?
- [36:00]
Savannah Chrisley
I got a lot of people that aren't too happy with me. No, she. Yeah, she's not real happy with me. She apparently took. I was in the People magazine like a week ago and she apparently took it in her meeting and said this is what white privilege is and like ripped it up. Yeah, she's not happy at all.
- [36:25]
Sharita Mathis
But has. Has your mom. Well, I'll speak about what I think from the time that I was there. Has she experienced that too? Or in a different way more so.
- [36:37]
Savannah Chrisley
She has experienced in a more subtle way of like, I know when she had first got there, she called me and was like distraught because One of the COs had locked her in the cafeteria. And Noni, I think is. She was like, oh, the hell with him. She was like, I'll. Cause she was with her. Cause I think she was. Mom was waiting to get food. Noni, I think, was in the medical line.
- [37:03]
Sharita Mathis
Okay.
- [37:04]
Savannah Chrisley
And so mom, like didn't want them to put the food up before she was able to get her food. So mom waited. And then I guess they got pissed off. The CO did and literally locked her in the cafeteria. Her and Noni. And it was that old guy that's just a.
- [37:19]
Sharita Mathis
The one that. I know who you're talking about.
- [37:21]
Savannah Chrisley
Yeah. Locked her in the cafeteria and luckily that girl was there. Cause mom had just gotten there, you know, so I mean, she would have found her way out. But like just stuff like that. But then they just. With her emails, they screw with those that like we get them every few weeks. Like they're not coming directly to us. And then within her mail, they're messing with that too. Because I, for someone that works there, had come to her and notified her of a situation that had occurred. And so it's just like small stuff like that. Dad's is more like in your face, deliberate raids, you know, trying to. I mean, they literally yesterday went in and took his underwear. All of his underwear, all of his food from commissary. Because he doesn't eat from that chow, Hal. He eats his commissary. Like, that's all he eats. And the warden allegedly said, you know, we're gonna make a believer out of him. Let's see how long he goes. Well, clearly I could talk to you forever. So we're gonna split this episode into two so that y'all can hear hilarious fun stories and hear a part of your book, one of the letters, and just make sure you guys stay tuned. And you can go and pre order her book now. And it will be out in April. So until next week, have a good one.
- [38:58]
Julie Chrisley
Are you looking for your next case? Pluto TV has all your favorite crime dramas streaming for free. You're gonna need some backup, which means suspicious.
- [39:07]
Al Ko
Very cool.
- [39:07]
Julie Chrisley
Watch CSI New York, Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods Tracker, FBI and swat. All for free.
- [39:12]
Sharita Mathis
You can't outrun this.
- [39:14]
Julie Chrisley
Someone is gonna pay for all this crime, but it's not gonna be you. Take care of business, fellas. Watch all the cases, all for free from all your favorite devices we got. You feel the free Pluto TV stream. Now pay. Never.
- [39:28]
E
I'm Stassi Schroeder, and honestly, you never know who or what you might hear on my podcast, Stassi, because, well, I'm a little cray cray. One of the ways, you know, you have grown is when you come to the realization that Carrie Bradshaw is kind.
- [39:45]
Sharita Mathis
Of the worst person.
- [39:46]
E
I've had to explain to her that the fireplace grows so that Santa can fit in it. Now she's going to be like, well, there is no fireplace and we're in this hotel, and I'm going to have to explain her. I don't know. He gets a hotel room key. Like, all these things that you have to come up with, it's just kind of crazy. Should I bring a whistle to wherever I go?
- [40:03]
Savannah Chrisley
Do you think that that would be.
- [40:04]
Sharita Mathis
The thing to break the ice? Whistle.
- [40:06]
E
Listen, every single one of us here is feeling some level of social anxiety.
- [40:12]
Savannah Chrisley
So let's just get on with it, okay?
- [40:15]
E
Take a breath, relax. So please do me a fav. Listen, follow rate and review my podcast dossi. Wherever you get your podcasts.