‘I WENT ON THE RUN WITH A CON MAN’
WHEN CELEBRITY CHEF SARMA MELNGAILIS MET SHANE FOX ONLINE, HER WORLD FELL APART
Before her staggering fall from grace, New York restaurant owner Sarma Melngailis had it all. The American chef, now 49, once ran a famous Manhattan vegan eatery named Pure Food and Wine, which was frequented by celebrity customers including Alec Baldwin and Owen Wilson.
She was even dubbed the ‘Vegan Queen’ by her Hollywood guests, and her thriving restaurant business had transformed into a food empire. But Sarma’s life’s work all came crumbling down when she met a man named Anthony Strangis.
Sarma stumbled upon Strangis – who called himself Shane Fox at the time – while scrolling Twitter.
Strangis had a criminal record and was lying about his true identity, but it didn’t matter to Sarma.
She fell in love quickly. The pair married and he soon started to take control of her powerful vegan empire.
So blinded by love was Sarma, she was duped into draining her bank accounts of nearly two million dollars – all because her mysterious husband claimed he could make both herself and her beloved dog, Leon, “immortal”.
The story is the subject of Netflix’s latest con artist docuseries, Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives., and the brazen deception rivals that of fellow documentary, The Tinder Swindler.
Strangis had convinced Sarma if she was “worthy” enough by giving him enough money, he could help her become the most powerful human in the world.
He also claimed he was investing her cash and that she’d get it back “tenfold”.
“I would have access to unlimited resources so I could grow my brand all over the world,” Sarma told Vanity Fair of Strangis’ promises.
“Basically, I could do all the world-changing things I’d been quietly dreaming about. I could help whoever I want and stay young forever doing it.”
Sarma mistakenly believed money was her ticket to immortality. She would regularly send her husband funds, sometimes over $10,000 at a time.
This was despite Sarma drowning in debt after she took full ownership of Pure Food and Wine from co-owner, chef Matthew Kenney, in 2004.
Over just two years, between 2012 and 2014, Sarma sent $1.7 million to Strangis. It was money she just didn’t have – Sarma was funnelling it out of her now struggling business.
“He combined the best techniques of cult leaders – abusive partner control, manipulation and con artist,” Sarma’s lawyer Sheila Tendy told the publication.
“Meaning, ‘When you give me your money, you’ll get 10 times back next week.’”
‘SHE WAS DUPED INTO DRAINING HER BANK ACCOUNT OF NEARLY TWO MILLION DOLLARS’
It all came crashing down in 2014 when Sarma went on a trip to Rome, at Strangis’ request. While she was gone, he officially took over her company and control of the finances.
After returning home from Europe, her business – and another company she owned named One Lucky Duck – was at financial breaking point.
Rent wasn’t being paid and neither were her staff.
Sarma was at a loss. Where was all the money she had been pouring into Strangis’ bank accounts for the past two years?
But rather than face the mess they had made, she and Strangis decided to go on the run.
The New York Post reported at the time that the pair “stole $844,000 from investors, failed to pay $400,000 in sales tax and short-changed employees by more than $40,000 in wages”.
The runaway couple had a damning rap sheet once the authorities finally caught up with them.
They both faced 15 years in prison for their crimes on several counts, including grand larceny.
One year after becoming fugitives, Sarma and Strangis were arrested at a Tennessee hotel in 2016.
An anonymous tipster reported them after a nonvegan Domino’s Pizza order was made under Strangis’ real name on his personal credit card.
In 2017, Sarma pleaded guilty to charges of grand larceny, criminal tax fraud and a scheme to defraud, in a deal for only six months in prison.
She claimed to be a victim of “coercive control”, and was manipulated by Strangis to send him money and run from the law.
Meanwhile, Strangis was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading guilty to four counts of grand larceny, and was made to pay back $844,000 to investors.
After serving time in prison, Sarma went back to live in New York with her pooch Leon and filed for divorce from Strangis in 2018.
In her interview with Vanity Fair, Sarma said she still suffers “nightmares” about running into her con man ex-husband.
“I don’t expect to be in contact with him ever again. The idea of actually seeing him is terrifying,” she admitted.
“I still get a jolt of panic now and then when I see a big guy with the same sort of wide build from afar, and worry for a second it’s him.
“I still have nightmares about him.”
Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives. is available now to watch on Netflix.