ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Earlier this year, Spencer Calvert, the owner of the Pineapple Corporation, was arrested and charged with embezzling construction funds, grand larceny and organized scheme to defraud.
Prosecutors said Calvert, 52, duped more than a dozen Nocatee homeowners out of money including Captain Sandy Yawn, the star of the hit Bravo show ‘Below Deck Mediterranean,’ and her wife Leah.
Now, after years of headaches, the two are officially Nocatee residents.
“It’s been a blessing to finally say that we actually live here in our official residence of Florida, but it’s been quite a journey for sure,” Leah Rae Yawn said.
Their move-in was significantly delayed after their homebuilder, the Pineapple Corporation, abandoned their unfinished home. The process all started in 2020, and they eventually paid $1.6 million in full for their dream home at Twenty Mile. After Calvert walked away from the project, they took matters into their own hands.
“I became our own contractor,” Leah Rae Yawn said. “We went to the building department, and they just kind of gave us a list of what we needed to do, and I just followed the checklist and all the inspections and the basics just to get our CO and get moved in. I’d say we had to pay an extra 6 to $700,000 just to get in here and get the basics done.”
The Yawns were finally able to move in this summer.
So, what happened to the money spent by homebuyers like the Yawns?
News4JAX obtained a new fraud investigation report from the State Attorney’s Office investigating Calvert and the Pineapple Corporation.
READ: SAO Investigation Report
Investigators said a total of $2,238,409 was stolen or embezzled from homeowners and $1,387,772 is still owed to subcontractors for work performed for the Pineapple Corporation.
Investigators said those were just some of the eight different ways Calvert used the company’s money for his own personal use.
The report also said Calvert took more than $900,000 as a loan from the company but investigators didn’t find any documents stating the terms of the loan.
More than $476,000 was converted to his personal Bank of America Account disguised as American Express reimbursements, and $569,000 was said to be used for expenses with model homes, but investigators said that also went to his account.
He’s also accused of paying himself a salary of more than $700,000.
Most notable in the list of his AMEX charges is the $19,152 spent on Jaguars tickets in 2022.
“I saw that American Express bill, and I was disgusted, just and that, because that was just a glimpse of what he’s done,” Leah Rae Yawn said. “$19,000 for Jags tickets, you know, $60,000 for, like, plane trips. And meanwhile, we’re stressed out and working our butts off trying to, like, just finish our home.”
Out of 134 payments on Calvert’s American Express accounts between 2019 and 2024, investigators wrote in the report that “42% of the charges were for what appear to be legitimate construction-related activities,” but approximately “58% of the charges appear to be for restaurants, sporting events, furniture stores, plane charters, and liquor retailers.”
“He knows what he did,” Leah Rae Yawn said. “It’s disgusting, it’s wrong, and I think we’ve said enough how we feel about it, and I hope that he goes away for a long time for what he put us through.”
The Yawns are hoping to put the past behind them after getting married and moving to Nocatee. Leah recently opened a facial spa in Ponte Vedra.
But they say it was the local contractors who stepped up to help that made it all possible.
“It’s been really nice to see the progress. Everything was kind of stalled out and kind of stale for so long. So it’s nice to see all these people have movement in their construction,” said Derek Walton, owner of Heritage Group Landscape Contractors.
Walton and DNS Service & Maintenance have been helping the Yawns and other neighborhood homeowners navigate their budgets and cut costs after their experience with the Pineapple Corporation. Both contractors were at the Yawns’ home Thursday.
"With Sandy and Leah, just putting final pieces together to kind of help them make their house, a home,” Walton said.
After all they have been through, Leah Rae Yawn said they don’t expect to get a dime back from Calvert.
“That’s kind of what we’ve been told,” she said. “There’s really no money to give back, but we just want for him to pay for what he’s put us through.”
Calvert’s next court date is October 2 in St. Johns County. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
News4JAX reached out to Calvert’s attorney for comment on this story. He sent us this letter in response:
Dear Ms. Salameh:
This case has been pending for several months. I have been in contact with the State throughout that time. Due to the volume of documents involved, it took time for the State to organize and furnish us with discovery, which included the report you referenced. That is common in financial cases. We are analyzing the discovery now.
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. Regardless of any explanation, we are committed to trying to resolve those problems favorably.
As to the specific questions concerning the charges, I cannot comment. However, the presumption of innocence is the cornerstone of our system of justice. In every criminal case the element of intent comes into play. In that respect, my client never intended any person or business to suffer any loss.
I hope this answers your questions satisfactorily.
Mitchell A. Stone