A prison sentence has been handed down against an extortionist who targeted embattled television chef Paula Deen. TMZ.com reports that Thomas Paculis was sentenced to two years in prison.

Paculis allegedly threatened to release "true and damning" information about Deen’s use of racial slurs if he didn’t receive $250,000, the story notes. He was arrested in July and charged with two counts of extortion after the FBI tracked him down.

He agreed to plead guilty to one count of extortion, in exchange for prosecutors dropping the other count, the piece notes.

As previously reported, Deen lost lucrative contracts and business deals after she admitted in a deposition in a separate case that she had used racist language. The Paculis extortion attempt surfaced as Deen was in the midst of the PR disaster.

Paculis was also reportedly ordered to get counseling for substance abuse.

Thomas Paculis