Here's What Really Happened To Anthony Strangis After The Bad Vegan Scandal

The newest Netflix con artist series, "Bad Vegan," comes with plenty of jaw-dropping surprises and questions, but what many viewers might find themselves wondering is where Anthony Strangis ended up after he and Sarma Melngailis were caught following a messy money scheme. While Melngailis, the restauranteur behind Pure Food and Wine, clearly made her way out (given that she is interviewed throughout the documentary), it is a little less clear where Strangis might be today. But the documentary did give some answers and closure to those invested in the dramatic story. 

After reportedly stealing from investors, dodging tax bills, failing to pay employees, and briefly disappearing in January 2015, Melngailis and Strangis were found and arrested by local authorities (thanks to a credit card used to order a Domino's pizza) and taken into custody in Tennessee until they could be transferred back to New York. Then, after being held at Riker's prison, Melngailis' family posted her $300,000 bond and she was able to fight her case outside of jail.

Strangis, who had a $350,000 bond, could not pay up and stayed in jail for the better part of a year, the documentary explains. By the time Strangis plead guilty and was sentenced, he had already done his time. But he did get five years of probation, according to the New York Post. Melngailis said that just as Strangis was leaving prison, she was entering Riker's again to do the three and a half months she was sentenced with. But ultimately, "Bad Vegan" revealed that Strangis is a free man who has continued on with his life.

Many of those interviewed for the documentary were extremely wary of this fact, too. Some former employees felt that women everywhere should be warned of his inclinations and avoid giving him money while others felt he is a danger to the public and that he shouldn't be free to scam anyone else. Even at the end of "Bad Vegan," a phone call between Melngailis and Strangis that occurred after she was released from prison suggested the pair might not be completely done with one another just yet.

According to Vanity Fair, Melngailis was still looking for help from Strangis in May 2015 after his half-sister, McKaila Coulter, heard Melngailis shout, "You ruined my life!," and "Everyone thinks I'm crazy because of you!" However, she never turned to anyone else for help. Sadly, all of Strangis' wild stories and money-grabbing might have been a byproduct of a complicated childhood. Strangis's mother spoke to Vanity Fair about the gambling addiction and violent temper his father had though Strangis's lawyer denies the account. 

Patricia Strangis explained that her son, at just three years old, removed a pair of dice from his pocket and said, "Baby needs a new pair of shoes." That's when she realized that her husband, a Brockton, Massachusetts policeman, had been "holding Anthony in one arm and rolling the dice with the other." Later, when Patricia tried to leave her husband, he violently threatened her with a gun before leaving. After she called the police, who then contacted her husband, he returned and "ripped the phone out of the house." 

Though his past seems to have not served him well, his lawyer, Sam Karliner, asserts that Strangis has successfully moved on. "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 told E! News. "Anthony is remorseful for the people at the restaurant that lost money and he took full responsibility for his part in that."