Netflix is serving up your latest true-crime obsession with the new docuseries Bad Vegan.
The four-part series, premiering Wednesday, March 16, explores what director Chris Smith describes to Variety as the “inconceivable” story of vegan chef Sarma Melngailis, who pleaded guilty to grand larceny, tax fraud and conspiring to defraud in 2019.
Smith was a self-described fan of the once famous restaurateur and couldn’t understand how Sarma, who mingled with famous figures like Bill Clinton and Alec Baldwin, had found herself in this predicament. So, after she was released from prison, he and executive producer Mark Emms sat down with her for an interview that ended up lasting eight hours.
He told Variety of the experience, “That’s when the story started to reveal itself to me in terms of the nuance of the journey she had gone on.”
Sarma revealed to the filmmakers her side of the story, claiming that she had fallen in love with Anthony Strangis, a.k.a. Shane Fox, who had convinced her to steal nearly $2 million from her restaurant Pure Food and Wine. How exactly did he do this? Well, he promised her he’d make her dog immortal.
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