Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that McClafferty did post bail Monday.
A judge set bail and release conditions for Brett “Mac” McClafferty at an advice of rights hearing Monday at Magistrate Court on St. Thomas following his arrest Saturday in connection with an $888,500 fraud investigation.
McClafferty, 37, who bills himself as a private investor and philanthropist and is the co-owner of St. Thomas Social at Yacht Haven Grande, was released from custody following Monday’s hearing after posting 10% of his $150,000 bond in cash, with the rest unsecured, according to court officials.
V.I. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Julie Todman Smith found probable cause for the charges against McClafferty, including grand larceny, passing or possession of forged bills, obtaining money by false pretenses, making and passing fictitious bills and notes, and drawing and delivering worthless checks.
The case currently remains sealed, though a court official who spoke to reporters following the hearing said she could not divulge why. (Because of a mixup, reporters who were at the court to attend the hearing were told to wait in the wrong courtroom, subsequently missed McClafferty’s appearance and were briefed on the proceeding after the fact.)
It’s also unclear why McClafferty was only arrested Saturday when Todman Smith signed his arrest warrant on Dec. 30 and he attended Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.’s State of the Territory address on Jan. 26 at the Legislature building on St. Thomas, apparently at the governor’s personal invitation, according to McClafferty’s Facebook post following the event. The men have appeared together in photos posted to social media with some frequency, with McClafferty referring to Bryan in a post last summer on his LinkedIn profile as “BDGE — Best Damn Governor Ever!”
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico initiated the complaint against McClafferty in June 2024, reporting a confirmed loss exceeding $80,000, though police allege 12 fraudulent transactions totaling approximately $888,500 moved through McClafferty’s business and personal accounts, according to a press release Sunday announcing his arrest by the VIPD’s Economic Crime Unit.
Investigators allege that between January and June 2024, McClafferty deposited counterfeit and fictitious checks — including instruments drawn on entities in the British Virgin Islands — and issued bank drafts that were later returned for insufficient funds or subject to stop-payment requests. Police say funds were withdrawn and wired to third parties before the instruments were returned unpaid.
In a statement following Monday’s hearing, V.I. Attorney General Gordon Rhea said, “Financial crimes undermine trust in our banking institutions and harm our community. The Virgin Islands Department of Justice remains committed to aggressively prosecuting individuals who engage in fraudulent schemes and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable under the law.”
In a statement provided to the Source and posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page Sunday, St. Thomas Social partner Sunil Sharma said the arrest centers on a 2024 banking deposit made by the restaurant’s former general manager for a private event rental. Sharma stated that McClafferty did not make the deposit and had no involvement with the client, and that the event ultimately was never held after the check repeatedly bounced and the client later died. Sharma called it “absurd” that the business or its owners would be held responsible for deposits made in the course of ordinary business, noting the restaurant processes more than $2 million annually in transactions. He said McClafferty “committed no crime” and expressed confidence in his release.
The restaurant, its parent company Social Hospitality Group and McClafferty — principal of Mac Private Equity and MPE Clearings and Holdings — are, or have been, the subject of numerous other lawsuits, while Mac Private Equity filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in Delaware Bankruptcy Court in March.
McClafferty has also faced landlord-tenant litigation tied to St. Thomas Social’s operations at Yacht Haven Grande, which was dismissed without prejudice in June. In all matters, McClafferty has denied allegations of wrongdoing and characterized some claims as business disputes.
According to the conditions of his release, McClafferty must surrender his passport and his Virgin Islands and Ohio driver’s licenses; may not leave St. Thomas without permission of the court; must report to the probation office twice weekly upon his release; have no contact with employees or witnesses at Banco Popular; may not possess weapons, ammunition, nor consume drugs or alcohol; must obey the law, and may not make any social media posts.
McClafferty’s arraignment is scheduled for March 13 at 10 a.m. in the Superior Court’s Magistrate Division on St. Thomas. He was represented by attorney Nicole-Lynn King-Richardson at Monday’s hearing.
