Shocking News: Captain Sandy accused of embezzlement

Stunning new details have emerged in the case against Spencer Calvert, the disgraced Florida builder hired by Below Deck Mediterranean star Captain Sandy Yawn and her wife, Leah.

In the official investigator’s report from the State’s Attorney’s office, reviewed by Entertainment Weekly, Calvert is believed to have embezzled client funds in excess of $2,238,409 through his company Pineapple Corporation of Jacksonville, INC. That’s in addition to an estimated  $1,387,772 still allegedly owed to a dozen subcontractors.

Speaking to EW, Leah described Calvert’s alleged crimes as “disgusting,” saying she and wife Sandy “used our life savings for this,” but “nothing’s been done.”

“He kept saying, ‘Send us progress payments,'” Leah explained. “He was like, ‘If you want this wood floor, this cabinetry or whatever, you have to pay for it up front.'” 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.” Reading through the report, Leah was shocked to discover flagrant purchases like Jacksonville Jaguars tickets. “$19,000 on Jags tickets? It was unbelievable.”

An official statement shared with EW by Calvert’s lawyer Mitchell A. Stone reads in part, “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. As in all businesses, market conditions sometimes create unexpected challenges. Supply chain and work force issues can impact construction costs which in turn can cause a ripple effect on the home building industry resulting in financial loss.”

The statement continues that “regardless of any explanation, we are committed to trying to resolve those problems favorably,” and finally, “my client never intended any person or business to suffer any loss.”

Captain Sandy reported in February that Calvert, contracted to build their $1.6 million dollar Jacksonville home in 2020, had gone “MIA with all our money.” Speaking to EW the day of his February arrest, the Bravo star hoped that “This is just the beginning and justice has and will continue to be served.”

The staggering amount of detail alleged in the investigator’s report is a likely indication that it will. Calvert is accused of having executed his scheme in a number of ways, including disguising client fund withdrawals as shareholder loans, labeling personal credit card reimbursements as business expenses, doing the same for his own personal residence’s mortgage expenses as model home expenses, and paying himself a hefty $700,000 salary at a time the report indicates his company “was financially failing and unable to sustain its expenses and debts.”

Leah described thousands more dollars used on “tickets and restaurants.” The investigation found that 58 percent of the charges to Calvert’s American Express between 2019 and 2024 were personal, including “plane charters” and “sporting events.” Leah recalls telling him, “Honestly, I don’t care what you do on your personal time. I’m not one to judge, but when you’re spending my money and everybody else’s money doing it, that’s disgusting.”

Leah recalls Calvert “had already built quite a few homes” in the gated community where they purchased a custom home, which led them to assume “he was a reputable builder… so we never would ever think this would happen.” After Calvert’s arrest, “all the other neighbors started coming out saying, ‘He is doing the same thing.'”

The investigator’s report details how the victims of Calvert’s scheme first learned that construction halted on their homes because subcontractors filed liens on the homes for work performed, not yet paid. The Yawns were “afraid he was going to go bankrupt,” and with it, lose all their money. “So we had to pay an extra $300,000, borrow money from family and stuff just to get the deed in the land. And then as soon as we got that, we went on the news and exposed him,” Leah said.

Despite Calvert’s arrest and the severity of the findings now compiled against him, Leah says “there’s no money to be given back.” She explains that “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. It’s just a matter of prison time.”

Calvert has pleaded not guilty to the charges and faces his next court date on Oct. 2.

“It sucks,” Leah says, “but I learned a lot.” Since then Leah has taken over contractor duties, joking that “it’s not rocket science” and that through the experience, “I learned how to wheel and deal real good.”

“We’re having to work so hard to rebuild everything, we’re paying for our house twice, basically.” But the Yawns “have learned how to become partners in this as a married couple and kind of carry each other through. We have made our relationship a priority over money,” Leah says, and what’s “beautiful” is that “we came out stronger as a couple through it all.”