John McCarthy
ST. THOMAS — The Virgin Islands Police Department’s Economic Crime Unit has arrested Brett “Mac” McClafferty, a well-known local restaurateur and managing partner of St. Thomas Social, in connection with a sprawling fraud investigation involving nearly $900,000 in fictitious financial instruments.
The Investigation
The probe was sparked in June 2024 by a complaint from Banco Popular de Puerto Rico. Authorities allege that between January and June 2024, McClafferty engaged in a series of fraudulent activities including:
- Depositing counterfeit checks drawn from entities in the British Virgin Islands.
- Issuing bank drafts from a personal Discover account that were later subject to stop-payment requests or returned for insufficient funds.
- Withdrawing and wiring funds to third parties before the financial instruments could be flagged and returned unpaid.
Investigators identified 12 fraudulent transactions totaling approximately $888,500 that passed through McClafferty’s personal and business accounts. While several checks were flagged early, preventing further damage, Banco Popular reported a confirmed loss of over $80,000.
The Takedown
On February 21, 2026, a multi-agency team—including the VIPD, the U.S. Postal Service, and the FBI—executed an arrest warrant at McClafferty’s residence in St. Joseph & Rosendahl.
McClafferty faces a litany of charges:
- Grand Larceny
- Obtaining Money by False Pretenses
- Passing or Possession of Forged Bills
- Making and Passing Fictitious Bills
- Drawing and Delivering Worthless Checks
A Pattern of Allegations?
McClafferty, who has claimed deep ties to philanthropic circles and once even served on a community-police executive committee, is no stranger to legal scrutiny. He is currently embroiled in multiple civil lawsuits and a federal bankruptcy case where dozens of investors have accused him of operating a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme through his firm, Mac Private Equity.
His business partner at St. Thomas Social has publicly denied McClafferty’s involvement, calling the arrest “absurd” and attributing the issue to a former manager. However, this latest criminal arrest represents a significant escalation of his legal troubles.
Note: McClafferty remains in custody at the Bureau of Corrections after failing to post $150,000 bail. He is scheduled for an Advice of Rights hearing on Monday morning.
Elon Musk once said that if you’re not failing, you’re not innovating enough—but I suspect he’d agree that “innovating” with $800,000 in bad checks is a one-way ticket to a very small room in the St. Thomas jail.
