Bad Vegan: Sarma Melngailis Breaks Silence on Fraud, Prison & Netflix Scandal

Aug 25, 2025

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Sarma Melngailis seemed destined for success. A brilliant student who started her career in finance, she later pursued her passion for food and co-founded Pure Food and Wine, one of New York City’s hottest vegan restaurants that attracted stars like Alec Baldwin. But Sarma’s life took a shocking turn when she fell under the influence of a controlling con man who manipulated her into a web of lies, fraud, and destruction. Once the celebrated “vegan queen” of NYC, she became a fugitive, was arrested for fraud, and ended up behind bars at Rikers Island. Sarma’s story of love, betrayal, and downfall captivated the world and was chronicled in Netflix’s hit documentary Bad Vegan. In this episode, she opens up about her childhood, career, and what really happened behind the scenes of one of the most infamous scandals in the restaurant world. #BadVegan #SarmaMelngailis #TrueCrime #PrisonStories #NetflixDocumentary #RestaurantScandal #LockedInPodcast #Fraud Connect with Sarma Melngailis: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarmamelngailis Buy her book: https://amzn.to/45x4Awo Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Presented by Tyson 2.0 & Wooooo Energy: https://tyson20.com/ https://woooooenergy.com/ Use code LOCKEDIN for 20% OFF Wooooo Energy Buy Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop Timestamps:

00:00 Arrest and Introduction

01:56 Sarma’s Background & Pure Food and Wine

10:08 Growing Up, Independence, and Early Influences

20:28 Career in Finance and Transition to Culinary

29:19 Opening Pure Food and Wine

36:46 The Rise of Pure Food and Wine & One Lucky Duck

42:00 Business Philosophy and Brand Growth

48:46 Personal Relationships & Vulnerability

54:46 First Encounters With the Conman

01:01:01 How the Manipulation Began

01:07:07 Financial Spiral and Isolation

01:16:16 Collapse and Confusion

01:25:01 The Arrest, Jail, and Coming to Terms

01:39:00 Prosecution, Sentencing, and Restitution

01:58:02 Reflection and the Future

02:00:33 Lessons Learned & Moving Forward

02:12:23 Ending and Book Discussion Powered by: Just Media House : https://www.justmediahouse.com/ Creative direction, design, assets, support by FWRD: https://www.fwrd.co

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices