He’s got a history of lying and has a criminal past
According to Bustle, Strangis is a career criminal who used a multitude of aliases to con unsuspecting people. Stacey Avery, Strangis’ ex-wife, claimed that after she became pregnant, he pawned her jewellery and gadgets – which Strangis’ lawyer, however, denies. She also claimed that he told her that there were demons after him, then abandoned her and their child randomly one day.
Before meeting Melngailis, Strangis was charged for fraudulent activities, including impersonating a police officer and stealing a sports car in Florida, which led to a grand theft charge.
When he met Melngailis, he hid his identity and told her he was Shane Fox. Her lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman accused him of being a “complete maniac” and a “lifelong predator and fraudster”, per the New York Post.
In March 2017, Strangis pleaded guilty to four counts of fourth-degree grand larceny and was sentenced to one year in jail and five years of probation.
From a fraudulent disgrace to turning over a new leaf
In May 2018, Melngailis filed for divorce from Strangis and they are no longer in touch. In fact, she told Vanity Fair that she’s rather terrified of him.
“The idea of actually seeing him is terrifying. I still get a jolt of panic now and then when I see a big guy with the same sort of wide build from afar and worry for a second it’s him. I still sometimes have nightmares about him,” she said.
Though not much is known about his current whereabouts, Strangis reached out to E! News via his lawyer Sam Karliner after Bad Vegan created lots of buzz. On being asked whether Strangis actually watched the show, Karliner said, “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”, reported Bustle. He didn’t want to get involved with the documentary because he’s moved forward, per E! News. “He pled guilty to it, he owned up to it, and he did it long before Sarma did. His case was resolved probably close to a year before Sarma’s was.”
Strangis’ probation it set to come to an end in May 2022.
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