Steven “Steve” McBee Sr. was thrust into the limelight during season 1 of The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys — but soon his legal woes were making headlines.
Fans met Steve and his four sons, Steven McBee Jr., Jesse McBee, Cole McBee and Brayden McBee, during the first season of the reality show in 2024 as they took viewers inside their lives running McBee Farm & Cattle in Missouri. Once the cameras stopped rolling, tragedy struck the family after Steve pleaded guilty in November 2024 for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar fraud scam using federal crop insurance.
During season 2 of the Bravo series, Steven took over the farm and slowly let his brothers in on their big secret: their father was under FBI investigation. In October 2025, Steve was sentenced to two years in prison.
When the cameras picked up for season 3, it was the day before Steve’s sentencing — and two months ahead of the date he surrendered to prison. Steve appeared on camera during a July 2026 episode, which filmed one month before he began his jail sentence in December 2025.
Scroll down for everything we know about Steve’s legal issues:
When Did Fans Last See Steve on ‘The McBee Dynasty’?
During the season 1 finale, which aired in March 2024, CFO Galyna Saltkovska told Steve that she failed to secure a deal with investors to expand their carwash business. The pair’s romantic relationship also reached a breaking point that led Steve to drink too much at their annual post-harvest farming celebration.
When the episode came to an end, Steven informed his brothers, “We’re on our own. Dad’s leaving. All he said is, he has no idea when he’s going to be back. He said he’s not in the right mental state to be running this farm.”
Steve was noticeably absent the majority of the Bravo series’ second season, which premiered in June 2025. He made his first appearance of the season during an August 2025 episode when he met his sons in Nashville. Steve was also present for the season finale, which documented son Jesse’s wedding.
During the season 3 premiere, which aired in June 2026, Steve’s sentencing in his fraud case was a major story line. While he didn’t appear on camera, his sons all reacted to his two-year sentencing, which was handed down in October 2025. He was, however, part of Cole and Kacie Adkison’s engagement celebration that was featured during a July 2026 episode.
When Was He Charged — And What Did He Allegedly Do?
In November 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Missouri announced in a press release that Steve was charged with one count of federal crop insurance fraud. Steve was accused of making a false report to insurance provider Rain and Hill in 2018, where he underreported his “corn crop by approximately 674,812 bushels” and “his total 2018 soybean crop by approximately 155,833 bushels,” per the DOJ.
Steve allegedly received more than $2.6 million in federal crop insurance benefits plus an additional $552,000 in federal crop insurance premium subsidies after providing the false numbers.
The DOJ further claimed that Steve committed fraud in 2019 and 2020. He allegedly misrepresented that his soybean crops were “the first crop in certain fields” in 2019, when he was also using the same space to grow wheat. When he allegedly decided to double crop, the DOJ argued he was “not entitled” to the insurance claim he filed.
In 2020, Steve allegedly planted corn after the last planting date that year and then gave NAU Country Insurance “false plant dates” to fraudulently obtain a new insurance policy.
Did He Plead Guilty?
Steve pleaded guilty in November 2024, confessing that his farm sold “more than 1.2 million bushels of corn and nearly 416,000 bushels of soybeans” to another party in 2018, according to the press release.
According to the press release, Steve signed a plea deal where he agreed to pay restitution that will be determined by the court. The government allegedly lost more than $4 million and Steve was estimated to owe more than $3.1 million in restitution.
When Was He Sentenced?
Steve waived his right to a grand jury when he signed his plea deal in November 2024 and was facing up to 30 years in a federal prison without parole.
His sentencing was originally slated for March 2025 but was rescheduled to June and later September of that year. News broke in September 2025 that Steve’s sentencing had been delayed for a fourth time and was set for October 16, 2025.
A judge sentenced Steve to 24 months in prison with an additional two years of supervised release, according to court documents obtained by Us. Steve was ordered to pay $4,022,124 in restitution. He had to self-surrender on December 1, 2025, to begin his prison term.
During the season 3 premiere of McBee Dynasty, which aired in June 2026, Steve’s sentencing was highlighted. Fans learned that in addition to the $4 million in restitution, he was ordered to pay $3 million in fines.
How Did ‘The McBee Dynasty’ Explain His Season 2 Absence?
During the season 2 premiere in June 2025, which filmed in late summer 2024, the cast talked about Steve, but he wasn’t on the show. “He just up and skipped town,” employee Tessa told the cameras of her boss during the episode.
Later in the season, the boys said Steve was traveling with his new girlfriend, Masha, internationally.
How Did Steve’s Family Learn About the FBI Investigation?
Galyna let it slip during season 2, episode 3, that Steve was under investigation by the FBI. At the time, his eldest son, Steven, confirmed that only he, Galyna, and Steve’s ex-wife, Kristi McBee, knew about the investigation. “My dad is under FBI investigation, and you are the only one, and my mom that even knows this is going on. So, this has to stay between us,” Steven told Galyna during the episode, which aired in July 2025.
Steven then told the cameras, “This FBI investigation is wearing on my dad. He didn’t want anything with his involvement affect[ing] any of us boys. My brothers don’t even know about it.”
Steven’s now-ex girlfriend Calah Jackson revealed during season 2, episode 6, that he confided in her about Steve’s legal troubles.
Steven’s younger brothers eventually learned about the scandal while taping season 2. “It was a shell shock just seeing the weight that Steven had been [dealing with],” Jesse exclusively told Us Weekly in July 2025. “It made a lot of things make a lot more sense, just the way that Steven was stressed out and we were trying to figure out why we thought we knew all of his stresses, and obviously he was holding that in and bearing that weight on his shoulders.”
What Have Steve’s Sons Said About His Trial?
Since Steve pleaded guilty to the insurance scam, the family has welcomed two new members. Cole and his girlfriend, Kacie, welcomed their first baby, daughter Blair, in December 2024. Jesse and his wife, Alli McBee, welcomed their daughter, Summer, in April 2025.
While the family was worried about Steve’s fate, Jesse and Steven exclusively told Us in July 2025 that they were focusing on the little moments.
“We’ve leaned into family. We take it day by day,” Steven said. “The situation is still ongoing. We’re hoping to have it wrapped up and have some finality to it before the end of the year. That’s the goal, just so we can move on and say, ‘OK, we’ve got this figured out. We can start life again now.’”
He added, “The hard part about it is it’s so unknown. We don’t know what it’s going to look like, so we’re preparing. We’re eating dinner together as a family with my dad, including my mom driving up to the farm three to four nights a week, enjoying the time with the grand babies. Just really cherishing time as a family because we don’t know what it’s going to look like afterwards.”
Was Steve Featured During Season 3?
Season 3 of the Bravo series premiered in June 2026, picking up 24 hours before Steve’s sentencing. While Steve wasn’t shown during the episode, his sentencing hearing and the fate of the family with him behind bars was a major topic.
“It’s the worst feeling I’ve ever felt. I don’t know where the $7 million is going to come from,” Cole said after learning his dad owed $4 million in restitution and $3 million in fines.
Steven was equally worried, telling his siblings, “It’s the damn monetary amount that I’m very concerned [about]. December 1? That gives us what, six weeks [with him].”
Steve’s sons decided to sell their facility to help pay the debt and make sure banks didn’t start calling to collect on their loans.
One month after he was sentenced, Steve reunited with his family on camera for son Cole’s engagement celebration. The episode taped in November 2025 and aired in July 2026, showing Steve with his sons, ex-wife Kristi and their granddaughters raising a glass to Cole and Kacie’s relationship milestone.
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