The hit series focuses on Strangis’ relationship with Pure Food and Wine owner Sarma Melngailis, who accused him of using “coercive control” to bilk investors and employees of the restaurant out of millions of dollars. To refresh you on the long, sordid case: According to Vanity Fair, Melngailis and Strangis married in secret in December 2012, but their relationship got ugly fast: Melngailis alleged that Strangis promised to make her beloved rescue pitbull immortal, as well as to help her live forever if she passed a series of “tests,” almost all of which involved large transfers of money from her vegan hotspot restaurant to his personal bank accounts. They used all of the eatery’s money, causing employees to go unpaid for five months. Strangis and Melngailis were arrested in a Tennessee hotel room in May 2016 after Strangis ordered a non-vegan pizza and chicken wings from Domino’s. In March 2017, Strangis pleaded guilty to four counts of fourth-degree grand larceny and was sentenced to five years probation; Melngailis spent four months in prison and is on five years probation after pleading guilty to grand larceny, criminal tax fraud and a scheme to defraud that May. In May 2018, after she was released from prison, Melngailis filed for divorce from Strangis.
What is Anthony from Bad Vegan doing now?
Strangis’ attorney, Sam Karliner, told E! News in a statement, “He’s gone on to live his life. He’s got a job, uses his name, this is behind him and she’s behind him.” Karliner added, “Anthony is remorseful for the people at the restaurant that lost money and he took full responsibility for his part in that.”
Why didn’t Sarma Melngailis’ ex-husband Anthony Strangis appear in Bad Vegan?
Karliner said that the reason Strangis didn’t want to get involved in the docuseries is that he has moved on from his past—and alleges he moved on faster than his famous ex-girlfriend did. “He pled guilty to it, he owned up to it and he did it long before Sarma did,” Karliner said. “His case was resolved probably close to a year before Sarma’s was.” Karliner admitted that Strangis knew that he obtained funds for his high-roller gambling lifestyle illegally, but says that his client never had any intentions of hurting anyone—and also confessed that Strangis hid his past from Melngailis. “Anthony had a past,” Karliner said. “He hid it from her initially—no one likes to come right out and say, ‘Hey, I got a criminal past.’” Melngailis didn’t comment on Strangis’ assertions, but she did respond to the Netflix docuseries in a blog post, as well as on her Instagram account. Next, find out how much of Hulu’s The Dropout, which follows another blond female scammer with an allegedly shady lover, is based on true events.
