Between 2019 and 2023, families in one of St. Johns County's most sought-after communities believed they were building their dream homes. Instead, they were funding one of the region's largest custom-home fraud cases. Spencer Calvert (owner of The Pineapple Corporation) took millions of dollars in upfront deposits to build custom homes in Nocatee's Vista at Twenty Mile neighborhood, then abandoned the projects — leaving behind foundations, partially framed shells, and homes that would never be finished by the man who was paid to build them.

The case ended in a St. Augustine courtroom in July 2026. <cite index="2-1">St. Johns County homebuilder Spencer Calvert was sentenced to the maximum of five years in prison, followed by 30 years of probation after pleading guilty to 45 felony charges tied to a construction fraud scheme.</cite> <cite index="1-2">The negotiated plea agreement includes an order requiring Calvert to pay $8,722,659.05 in restitution.</cite>

What Happened

<cite index="1-5,1-6">Between 2019 and 2023, several projects in the Vista at Twenty Mile neighborhood in Nocatee were abandoned by custom homebuilder Pineapple Corporation. The homes were in various incomplete stages; some had roofs, others just had a foundation.</cite>

The money flowed one direction. <cite index="18-14,18-15">Authorities said Calvert accepted large upfront deposits from homebuyers with the representation that the funds would be used to pay subcontractors working on their homes. Instead, investigators determined he misappropriated a total of $8,722,659.05 from the 15 homeowners who cooperated.</cite>

Among the victims was a nationally recognizable name. <cite index="13-7,13-8">One of those victims is Bravo TV's Capt. Sandy Yawn of "Below Deck" who testified in court that she and her fiancée lost $1.6 million in the scheme.</cite> The 45 counts to which Calvert pleaded guilty covered the mechanics of the scheme itself. <cite index="7-6">Spencer Calvert, the former owner of Pineapple Corporation, pleaded guilty to all 45 felony counts against him, including organized fraud, grand theft and misappropriation of construction funds.</cite>

I've made numerous mistakes which led to catastrophic losses and hardships that the victims and many others have faced and continue to face. For that, I accept complete responsibility and I offer my sincere apology.— Spencer Calvert at his sentencing, quoted by News4JAX, July 29, 2026

Why It Was So Easy

The Pineapple Corporation scheme worked precisely because of how custom-home money normally moves in Florida. Homeowners routinely hand large sums directly to a builder up front, trusting that the builder will forward those funds to the tradespeople doing the actual work. There is no automatic third party verifying that the money reaches its destination.

That trust is exactly what failed here. <cite index="17-4,17-5">Investigators found that Calvert collected deposits meant to pay the subcontractors he hired to build the homes, but never actually paid them. That failure forced several subcontractors to file liens against the homeowners' properties to recover money owed for their labor, services, and materials.</cite>

The result was a double loss for families who had done nothing wrong. <cite index="17-6">Families lost hundreds of thousands of dollars each, then had to pay off liens on their own property and hire new contractors to finish homes they had already paid for.</cite> Because Florida's lien law makes the property owner ultimately responsible for unpaid subcontractors, homeowners could be forced to pay twice for the same work — once to Calvert, and again to clear the liens.

The Investigation

The scope of the loss grew as investigators dug in. Earlier figures in the case were even larger than the final restitution number. <cite index="4-10,4-11,4-12">According to investigators, Calvert got millions of dollars in deposits from customers to build their custom homes and misappropriated over $15 million. Finishing building their homes with new contractors was expected to cost the victims over $17 million. The Sheriff's Office said Calvert also failed to pay subcontractors, and that caused more than $900,000 in liens to be filed against the alleged victims.</cite>

The prosecution was a multi-agency effort. <cite index="17-13,17-14">The case was investigated jointly by the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office and Seventh Circuit State Attorney's Office investigators, with assistance from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Assistant State Attorneys Jennifer Lieb and Monica Smith prosecuted the case for the state.</cite>

The road to sentencing was not smooth. <cite index="6-10,6-11">The guilty plea came four months after an earlier plea agreement unraveled in court following emotional objections from victims, who argued the proposed punishment and restitution were inadequate. That agreement would have included a five-year prison sentence and significantly less upfront restitution of $150,000 before it was rejected and negotiations collapsed.</cite> The revised deal carried far more money back to the families. <cite index="7-2">Calvert paid $1 million at sentencing, which will be divided among 15 cooperating victims according to their share of the losses.</cite>

What Escrow Would Have Changed

The Pineapple Corporation case is a textbook illustration of why upfront lump-sum payments to a builder are dangerous — and why a structured escrow-and-draw system exists specifically to prevent this outcome. Under a properly administered construction escrow, the homeowner's money is never simply handed to the builder to spend as they choose.

Instead, funds are held by a neutral party and released only as verified work is completed. <cite index="21-1,21-2">The bank holds the money in an escrow account and releases it in structured phases known as construction draws. The contract establishes a "draw schedule" tied to specific construction milestones (e.g., 10% when the foundation is poured, 20% when the framing is finished, 20% when the roof is on).</cite> Critically, the release is not based on the builder's word. <cite index="21-4,21-5,21-6">The bank does not simply trust the builder's word. Before releasing the funds, the bank will send an independent inspector to the job site to verify that the foundation is actually poured and meets building codes. Only after the inspector signs off will the bank wire the draw amount to the builder.</cite>

Escrow also attacks the exact mechanism that trapped the Nocatee homeowners — unpaid subcontractors filing liens. <cite index="21-8">Under Chapter 713, Florida Statutes, whenever an owner or bank approves a construction draw, they must simultaneously collect a signed Partial Release of Lien from the general contractor and subcontractors.</cite> In other words, a builder can't collect the next draw without proving the last round of workers was actually paid. Had Calvert's homeowners' money moved through such a system, an abandoned project would have meant unspent escrow funds still available to the family — not a bare foundation, a vanished builder, and liens on the deed.

Florida has since tightened the rules for the broader problem of nonpayment. <cite index="20-5,20-6,20-7">As of July 1, 2026, a Florida contractor who receives payment for work a subcontractor performed and does not pay that subcontractor within 45 days risks losing a professional license. Florida's new subcontractor payment law, Fla. Stat. § 489.1295, is the first statute to impose licensing consequences for nonpayment on private construction projects.</cite> But licensing penalties punish after the fact; escrow prevents the loss in the first place. The lesson of The Pineapple Corporation is that structural protection — money held by a neutral party, released only against inspected work and lien releases — is what stands between a homeowner and an $8.7 million hole in the ground.

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