Pensacola is now the home of reality TV star Todd Chrisley, but you’re not likely to see him out and about any time soon.
Chrisley and his wife, Julie, were found guilty of committing tax evasion and defrauding community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans in June 2022 and sentenced to 12 and seven years in prison, respectively.
Todd began his 12-year sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola on Tuesday, according to prison records. Julie was originally slated to serve time in the federal prison camp in Marianna but was reassigned to the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky. It is not clear why she was instead rerouted to the Kentucky facility.
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Who are Todd and Julie Chrisley?
Todd and Julie starred in the reality TV show “Chrisley Knows Best,” where the couple portrayed themselves as multimillionaire real estate tycoons and entrepreneurs with a picture-perfect family. The show aired on the USA Network and ran for nine seasons.
The Chrisleys spent millions on designer brand clothes, luxury cars and real estate, including two mansions in Nashville, Tennessee, reportedly worth about $9 million.
In addition to prison time, the couple has been ordered to pay $17 million in restitution.
They are appealing their conviction.
What is the Federal Prison Campus Pensacola?
The Pensacola campus is a minimum security institution that has dormitory housing, low staff-to-inmate ratios and limited or no perimeter fencing, and is located on Saufley Field, an outlying field of Naval Air Station Pensacola − home of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. The Bureau of Federal Prisons categorizes this type of prison as "work- and program-oriented."
In 2009,Forbes listed FPC Pensacola as the second “cushiest” prison in America.
According to Forbes, FPC Pensacola’s proximity to NAS Pensacola is a rare and desirable feature for inmates due to having access to better jobs and recreational activities. It has 350 male prisoners.
Former prisoner Mark Whitacre, a former executive of agricultural conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland who spent half his 8.5 year-sentence in Pensacola,told Forbes that prisoners there could visit with their families on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in a tree-filled park, which offered "more like the privacy of a backyard."
Whitacre embezzled $9 million from Archer Daniels Midland while work working as an undercover FBI informant and was the subject of the 2009 filmThe Informant!, played by actor Matt Damon.
Notable inmates at Federal Prison Campus Pensacola include NBA referee, congressman
Todd is not the first notable inmate to step foot inside the prison.
Tim Donaghy is a former NBA referee who plead guilty in 2007 to wire fraud conspiracy and illegally transmitting betting information. Donaghy was released from custody in 2009 after serving 11 months.
Chris Collins was a U.S. Representative from New York's 27th district who was convicted of insider trading. Collins was released after he was pardoned by President Trump in December 2020.
Billy Walters is a professional sports gambler who was convicted of insider trading. Walters leveraged insider information related to Dean Foods Co. and stole millions. Professional golfer Phil Mickelson was also named in the investigation. Walters' sentence was commuted in January 2021 by President Trump.
Irvin Mayfield was a jazz trumpeter guilty of the New Orleans Library scandal. Mayfield diverted $1.3 million of library foundation money and is currently serving an 18-month sentence.
Robert M. Freeman is a Goldman Sachs partner that was convicted of insider trading. Freeman was released from custody in 1990 after serving a four-month sentence.
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Douglas Green was a Louisiana insurance commissioner from 1988 to 1991 before he was convicted of conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering in 1991. Green was released from custody in 2003 after serving 12 years.
Paul H. Jones was the mayor of Ravenna, Ohio from 1976 to 1982 and again from 1996 to 2005. He was convicted in 2010 of mail fraud and filing false tax returns using his position to help his son's business make over $260,000 and failing to report it to the IRS. Jones was released from federal custody in 2008 and transferred to an Ohio state prison.
Scott Maddox is a former Tallahassee City Commissioner who was sentenced to five years in prison for bribery. He's now serving time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega.
Robert Powell was a developer for two for-profit juvenile prisons in Pennsylvania and was involved in the Kids for Cash scandal. He plead guilty to paying $770,000 to two judges in exchange for sentencing juveniles to serve time in his prisons. Powell was released from custody in 2013 after serving 18 months.
Mike Berlon was a lawyer, former chariman of the Georgia State Democratic Party and member of the Democratic National Committee's Executive Committee. Berlon plead guilty to one count of wire fraud in 2015. He was released from custody in 2020 after serving five years.
