Fugitive ‘Vegan Bernie Madoff’ Makes Bail: Gambled Away Investors Funds

Submitted by Guest on

Written by :

Guest

Published on :

  • Sarma Melngailis managed to post her $335,000 bond after being jailed for pilfering some $2 million from restaurant biz
  • Captured in Tennessee with her fugitive boyfriend after ordering a not-so-vegan Dominos Pizza
  • Accused of stealing around $840,000 from investors while failing to pay employees for weeks
  • Possibly gambled away nearly $2 million at Connecticut casinos

A woman referred to as the “Vegan Bernie Madoff” has managed to post her $335,000 bail after she was found to have pilfered nearly $2 million from her popular vegan restaurant leaving employees and investors high and dry.

Ad: Open an Online Betting Account Today at Gambling911 Endorsed AceSportsbook.  Receive Hundreds of Dollars in Signup Bonuses Here

Sarma Melngailis, a 1994 Penn State grad, and hubby Anthony Strangis were captured in Tennessee after ordering a not-so-vegan Dominos Pizza.

Melngailis ran popular Greenwich Village restaurants Lucky Duck and Pure Food and Wine. 

From The Daily News:

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun approved Melgnailies’ bail package and she was released from the courtroom with her attorneys Cesar de Castro and Sheila Tendy shortly after.

Melngailis, who declined to comment, immediately changed out of the baggy jail garbs and into a sleeveless white shirt that exposed a tattoo of a duck on her left shoulder and white jeans.

Melngailis is accused of stealing some $844,000 from investors and spending around $2 million in Connecticut casinos.  She also failed to pay employees for weeks, leading to her entire staff walking out en masse.  Employees referred to her as “The Vegan Bernie Madoff” with a number of them appearing in court at the time she was jailed.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com

Related Content

Sport Count is the Wrong Metic: What Betting Data From Turkey, Argentina, Malaysia Says About Sportsbook Suppliers

Sport Count is the Wrong Metic: What Betting Data From Turkey, Argentina, Malaysia Says About Sportsbook Suppliers

New Zoom In research from Uplatform shows football's share of handle in Turkey, Argentina and Malaysia drops sharply once matches go live, while basketball, tennis and cricket pick up the difference
Big Brands Win Player Acquisition Because They Did the Basics First

Big Brands Win Player Acquisition Because They Did the Basics First

Big brands win player acquisition. In the US, Flutter is putting an extra $270 million into FanDuel this half to buy shares for 2027, and DraftKings is pulling promotional spend forward for the NFL season.
Best Pay Per Head Software This 2026 NFL Season

Best Pay Per Head Software This 2026 NFL Season

We might be a little bias. AcePerHead.com has been a Gambling911.com partner for well over a decade now and they'll be with us for the next year.
Santa Rosa California's Graton Casino Hosts Global Debut of Wheel of Fortune Magic Coins

Santa Rosa California's Graton Casino Hosts Global Debut of Wheel of Fortune Magic Coins

The new game is described as a much more feature-heavy video slot than the original Wheel of Fortune machine. IGT is preparing to showcase it at G2E 2026 on the RISE55 cabinet.