Todd Chrisley Details His Life in “Filthy” Prison With “Dated” Food

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Todd Chrisley is speaking out from behind bars.

The Chrisley Knows Best alum—who is serving a yearslong sentence for bank fraud and tax evasion at a federal prison camp in Pensacola, Fla.—alleged that he is being mistreated by staff as a way to “humble him.”

“The food is dated,” he said in a phone interview on the Dec. 8 broadcast of Chris Cuomo‘s News Nation show Cuomo. “It’s a year past expiration.”

Todd also accused prison workers of “literally starving” inmates by providing them with “disgustingly filthy” food that allegedly came into contact with wild animals.

“You’ve got rats, you’ve got squirrels in the storage facility where the food is,” he claimed. “They just covered it up with plastic and then tore the ceiling out because of all the black mold and found a dead cat in the ceiling, and it dropped down on the top of the food.” 

To avoid eating food made for the prison’s general population, Todd cooks his meals using ingredients purchased with his own money from the commissary. Still, he alleged, staff has been “cutting down” on the amount of food he can buy per week.

“I eat tuna, I eat peanut butter—that’s where I get protein,” the 54-year-old said. “And then I start over again doing the same thing the next week.” 

But Todd alleged the mistreatment spanned beyond chow time, claiming that someone once attempted to extort his family from behind bars.

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“There was a photograph taken of me while I was sleeping and sent to my daughter,” he alleged, “asking for $2,600 dollars a month for my protection.”

E! News has reached out to Pensacola Federal Prison Camp for comment but hasn’t heard back.

Todd and his wife, Julie Chrisley, were found guilty in June 2022 of conspiring to defraud banks and taking out millions of dollars’ worth of personal loans using false bank statements. He reported to his prison in January, while Julie—who he married in 1996—began her sentence at a different federal prison in Lexington, Ky.

Their attorney Jay Surgent said in September that the couple’s sentences were shortened, with Todd’s initial 12-year entence down to 10 and Julie’s seven-year sentence down to five.

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Todd and Julie are working to appeal their convictions from prison, leaving their 26-year-old daughter Savannah Chrisley to care for their son Grayson, 17, and granddaughter Chloe, 11. 

“That has been really tough,” Savannah shared during a recent episode of her Unlocked podcast, “especially going to visit mom and dad and being in a relationship and feeling like I want something for myself at times.”

She added, “I have this layer of guilt that weights over me like, ‘Oh my gosh, you have to go see and them. Like, how selfish of you?’ I’m the angel on one side and devil on the other, of just this constant battle of feeling what I’m doing isn’t enough.”

Keep reading to see the Chrisley family through the years.

Mike Windle/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Couple Portrait

Chrisley Knows Best stars Julie Chrisley and Todd Chrisley smiled for a professional photo together in 2016.

Tommy Garcia/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Cast Photo

Todd and Julie were pictured along with Faye Chrisley, Chase Chrisley, Savannah Chrisley, Chloe Chrisley and Grayson Chrisley ahead of season eight of their reality show.

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Beverly Hills Outing

The spouses attended the 2014 Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. in 2014. 

Photo by Kevin Mazur/ACMA2017/Getty Images for ACM

Academy of Country Music Awards

The pair hit the red carpet for the 2017 Academy Of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas.

Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Concert For Love And Acceptance

The Concert For Love And Acceptance

Lindsie Chrisley—whose parents are Todd and Teresa Terry—joined her dad, Savannah and Julie at the 2015 Concert For Love And Acceptance at City Winery Nashville.

Aaron Poole/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Sibling Bond

Savannah and Chase snapped a pic together in 2019 for E! News’ Daily Pop.

USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Chrisley Knows Best

The couple appeared with granddaughter Chloe, who they adopted, on the “Build A Baby” episode in 2020.

Vivian Zink/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Hollywood Game Night

Todd and Julie appeared with their daughter Savannah on Hollywood Game Night in 2018 for the “Chrisley’s Believe It Or Not” episode.

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Father-Daughter Date

The real estate mogul and his daughter were among the stars at the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas.

D Dipasupil/FilmMagic

New York Event

Todd and Julie kept their kids Savannah and Chase close at the 2015 NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Upfront in New York City.

Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images for E3 Chophouse Nashville

Nashville Night Out

Todd and Julie were spotted at the 2019 grand opening of E3 Chophouse Nashville in Nashville, Tenn.

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