Stacie Meehan Vande Wetering, a former contestant on the Food Network’s “Guy’s Grocery Games” and “Beat Bobby Flay,” was indicted on the felony charge of embezzling $10,319 from Singing River Yacht Club in Pascagoula, Miss., where she was Executive Chef and General Manager. She must pay back nearly $14,000 and comply with other requirements.
An ex-Food Network show contestant won’t be going to prison for embezzling money from Singing River Yacht Club (SRYC) in Pascagoula, Miss., but a judge ordered her to pay nearly $14,000 back for her crime, the Biloxi Sun Herald reported.
Because she had no previous criminal record, Judge Dale Harkey allowed Stacie Meehan Vande Wetering, 47, to enter into the court’s three-year pre-trial diversion program that would mean no felony record—as long as she complies with all requirements, including drug and alcohol testing, according to the Sun Herald’s report. Harkey also ordered her to pay back the $10,319 in embezzled funds, as well as other fines.
Vande Wetering, known as “Cheffy,” competed on the Food Network’s “Guy’s Grocery Games” in March 2016, and later on “Beat Bobby Flay,” the Sun Herald reported. She had even spoken to the newspaper about the competition and her work at the Pascagoula yacht club, saying that she envisioned making the yacht club “a club again.”
But in 2018, a Jackson County grand jury indicted her on the felony charge of embezzling, according to the Sun Herald report. The allegations were that she stole between $5,000 and $10,000 at different times between Jan. 27, 2017 and Sept. 27, 2017.
According to authorities, Vande Wetering had access to the cash through her position as Executive Chef and General Manager at the Singing River Yacht Club, the report stated.
On March 26, Vande Wetering told the judge she agreed to all stipulations required of her to be in the pre-trial diversion program, the Sun Herald reported. She admitted embezzling the money, saying she “misused funds in my capacity at SRYC.” She did not indicate what that money had been used for.
Of the $10,319 she has to pay back, $500 will go directly to the yacht club and the rest will go to its insurance carrier, Chubb Insurance Company, the Sun Herald reported. The judge also fined Vande Wetering $250 and ordered her to pay $100 to the Victim’s Compensation fund, $75 per month for 3 years to the District Attorney’s Office to cover costs of the pre-trial diversion program, as well as other court costs.
Vande Wetering began her culinary career in an apprenticeship at Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Ala., the Sun Herald reported. Throughout her career, she has worked in hotel kitchens, high-end restaurants and a catering service. She also worked in restaurants for two decades in Atlanta and another two years in Manhattan.
In addition, she previously was Executive Chef of the Lakewood Club in Fairhope, Ala., and was executive and owner of Cheffy By the Bay Catering in Daphne, Ala., the Sun Herald reported. After her time at Singing River Yacht Club, Vande Wetering went to work for a short time as Executive Chef of the Biloxi Yacht Club.
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