‘Below Deck’ Captain Sandy Tied To Embezzlement Scheme?
Captain Sandy Yawn is intimately tied to an alleged embezzlement scheme. The Below Deck star and her wife, Leah Rae Yawn, opened up about the “disgusting” behavior of a builder they worked with. Keep reading to see how they got wrapped up in the scheme and what’s being done to make things right.
Below Deck Captain Wrapped Up In Heartbreaking Scheme
More details regarding the case against disgraced Florida builder Spencer Calvert are coming to light. Unfortunately for Below Deck Captain Sandy, it involves her and her wife, Leah.
Spencer Calvert stands accused of embezzling client funds in excess of $2,238,409 through his company. Pineapple Corporation of Jacksonville, Inc. also allegedly owes more than $1.3 million to subcontractors.
So, how are Captain Sandy and her wife tied up in this? They worked with Spencer to build their home and, over time, they discovered a number of flagrant and unrelated charges.
Leah spoke with Entertainment Weekly, saying that Spencer Calvert’s crimes are “disgusting” and that she and Sandy used their life savings on their house.
“He kept saying, ‘Send us progress payments.'” She continued, “He was like, ‘If you want this wood floor, this cabinetry, or whatever, you have to pay for it upfront.'” But, she claims, “he never ordered it. He put it in his personal bank account. So we ended up with a shell of a house. We basically had not even stucco on the house when we got it.”
Reports revealed that Spencer spent insane amounts of money on unrelated things. “$19,000 on Jags tickets?” Leah exclaimed. “It was unbelievable.”
She went on to detail more jaw-dropping expenses that Spencer used his clients’s money to purchase. In fact, 58% of all of his purchases on his American Express from 2019 to 2024 were for personal use.
“Honestly, I don’t care what you do on your personal time,” Leah said. “I’m not one to judge, but when you’re spending my money and everybody else’s money doing it, that’s disgusting.”
The Below Deck star contracted Spencer Calvert to build their $1.6 million dollar home in Jacksonville in 2020. He went “MIA with all our money,” Captain Sandy revealed.
Leah recalled that Spencer had already finished a number of homes in the gated community where they planned to build their home. They assumed he was a reputable builder. After he was arrested, neighbors came revealed he did the same thing to them.
Spencer Calvert’s Victims Will Never See A Dime Back
Spencer was arrested in February and Sandy hopes it is “just the beginning.” She added that “justice has and will continue to be served.”
Victims of Spencer’s embezzlement schemes first became aware of what was happening when building their homes came to a halt. A number of subcontractors filed liens for work they’d done and hadn’t been paid for.
The Below Deck Captain won’t get any money back. “It’s at a white-collar crime level now with state’s attorney and FBI and really, no one’s really going to get money back,” Leah explained. “It’s just a matter of prison time.”
Leah admitted that it “sucks,” but in the end, her relationship with Sandy became stronger. “We have made our relationship a priority over money,” she said.
Spencer Calvert’s lawyer Mitchell A. Stone issued a statement about the charges his client is facing. “Although I cannot comment on the evidence at this time, our investigation has revealed that my client was a respected home builder and businessman for many years,” he said. The statement went on to say that Spencer had a number of “unexpected challenges” in his business due to supply chain and workforce issues.
He went on to say that it was not Spencer’s intention for anyone to “suffer any loss. The disgraced home builder pleaded not guilty to all the charges he is facing. His next court date is October 2.
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