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Todd Chrisley says his time behind bars has been less than comfortable — alleging blackmail, expired food, and a team of employees who want to “humble him.”  “There was a photograph taken of

me while I was sleeping and sent to my daughter, asking for $2,600 dollars a month for my protection,” the _Chrisley Knows Best_ star alleged in his first-ever prison interview with

reporter Brian Entin on Chris Cuomo's _NewsNation_ show Cuomo.  “There are recordings of staff members here talking about, 'He needs to be humbled,'” he added, alleging

someone said, “‘He thinks he’s in one of his mansions that he’s used to living in. But this is the f—ing BOP. That’s what he’ll need.’” Todd’s daughter, Savannah Chrisley, has been outspoken

throughout the year about poor conditions in both Todd and mom Julie Chrisley’s federal prisons. Todd followed up on Savannah’s claims, including black mold in the institution, and alleging

food served to inmates is expired.  “It is so disgustingly filthy. The food is literally, I’m not exaggerating — the food is dated and it’s out of date by, at minimum, a year,” he said.

“It’s a year past expiration. And they are literally starving these men to death here. These men are getting — I don’t know — they are getting a thousand calories a day.” Instead of eating

the free meals, Chrisley uses his own money to pay for groceries from the commissary. However, even this has been sabotaged, he claimed, pointing to an unnamed employee for the reason he’s

short on groceries.  “I’ve been told this by a staff member — one of the ways she’s trying to break me is by cutting down what you can buy in commissary,” he said. “So, before she came here,

you could buy 12 packs of tuna a week. She cut it down to six, and from six it went to three. She had not given a reason — when I asked her about it, she said commissary is a privilege, not

a right.” Todd’s meals are simple now. “I eat tuna, I eat peanut butter — that’s where I get protein. I eat, like, a pasta salad that I make. And then I start over again doing the same

thing the next week.” Even though he’s found ways around the food system, Todd claimed the quality of all has been compromised by living and dead 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.” Todd is serving 12 years at the federal prison after a jury convicted him and Julie of a multimillion dollar bank fraud and tax

evasion scheme. Julie is serving seven years in a Kentucky federal prison. Both will continue to serve 16 months of probation following their sentences. The couple has already appealed their

sentences, and in late November, they received a small win. The courts agreed to hear oral arguments for the appeal, Savannah confirmed on her podcast.  NEVER MISS A STORY — SIGN UP FOR

PEOPLE'S FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER TO STAY UP-TO-DATE ON THE BEST OF WHAT PEOPLE HAS TO OFFER, FROM CELEBRITY NEWS TO COMPELLING HUMAN INTEREST STORIES. PEOPLE reached out to the Pensacola

Federal Prison Camp for comment.