If you thought Captain Sandy Yawn was intimidating on Below Deck Mediterranean, wait until you see this footage from her inside the courtroom. She and her wife, Leah Yawn, appeared in court this week to confront a scammy contractor who allegedly stole millions of dollars from Florida homeowners. Check out the clip below, and think twice before you try to pull a fast one on these two.
Captain Sandy and Leah Yawn gave victim statements in court
Sandy and Leah have been dealing with this mess for years. They contracted a man named Spencer Calvert to build their $1.6 million home in 2020. Supposedly, he ran off with their money and did the same thing to over a dozen other homeowners. According to an investigative report, he may have misappropriated around $15 million in funds.
Allegedly, Spencer would take his client’s funds and use them to finance his lifestyle. For example, prosecutors claim he spent $19,000 of client money on tickets to see the Jacksonville Jaguars. Basically, he’s like the Tom Girardi of Florida contractors.
Spencer was offered a plea deal, which would have given him a five-year prison sentence, along with paying each of his victims $150,000. That deal fell apart when his victims, like Sandy and Leah, confronted him in the courtroom. News4JAX cameras were rolling as they shared their thoughts on his proposed deal.
“Our lives were turned upside down, and we were suddenly facing the possibility of losing our home entirely,” Leah said.
She added, “Spencer even offered to actually buy our house back from us … We no longer have financial resources; we could not afford a lawyer.”
When Sandy took the mic, she told the judge that Spencer deserved more than just five years behind bars. She said that a decade would feel more like justice. She also wants her money back.
“Spencer, you lied to us, you promised us,” Sandy said in the courtroom. “You acted like you were our friend, that you wanted to help us, and you destroyed us, every one of us, and you stay here, and you still live in your home. Well, we have wires hanging from our house.”
Following the victim impact statements, the state revisited the plea deal and proposed new terms. They offered him 10 years in prison and $650,000 in restitution, split among the 13 victims, instead of the original payments of $150,000. That’s an improvement, but still not enough.
The defense rejected the deal, so the case will continue to move forward. A pretrial date was set for April 9. Justice moves at a snail’s pace.
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TELL US – DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF SUPPORT FOR SANDY AND LEAH AS THEY CONTINUE TO DEAL WITH THIS NIGHTMARE?
