Steven McBee Jr. revealed his family has been put through the ringer amid dad Steven “Steve” McBee’s fraud trail.
“That has truly taken over the last two to three years of our lives,” Steven, 32, said of his dad’s legal scandal on the Tuesday, November 11, episode of the “Unlocked” podcast. “You feel like you’re wearing the scarlet letter everywhere that you go. It is like a black cloud over your head. It’s been tough.”
He confessed, “The mental anguish and toll that takes on you it’s hard to even describe.”
The podcast was taped before Steve, 53, was sentenced in October to two years in prison for his part in a multimillion-dollar crop fraud scam.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Steve was also sentenced to an additional two years on supervised release after pleading guilty in November 2024 to one count of federal crop insurance fraud.
The former McBee Farm & Cattle CEO will also have to pay $4,022,124 in restitution for his crimes and self-surrender before 2 p.m. on December 1.
While Steven was unaware of what sentence his father would face when he spoke with podcast host Savannah Chrisley, he shed light on the situation.
“We’re hoping that it is just four years of probation,” Steven said on Tuesday’s episode, revealing that was what the prosecuting attorney “is coming down and recommending.”
Steven was aware the sentencing could be harsher but was hopeful there would be no jail time since his family and their company were “willing to open up our world” to the court.
Steven, who stars alongside his dad and brothers Jesse McBee, Cole McBee and Brayden McBee on Bravo’s The McBee Dynasty, recalled how tough the build up to Steve’s sentencing was on him. (Steven took over as the CEO of McBee Farm & Cattle while his dad was under FBI investigation.)
“It feels like you’re wearing the scarlet letter everywhere you go. I’ve still felt like that to this day,” Steven shared. “You keep your chin held high, you know who you are as a person, you know what your character is, but you read articles. You read about all these things. … It makes you start to question your character.”
When asked what the biggest misconception has been throughout Steve’s case, Steven said, “That everything we’ve built, all of our businesses, the years and years of absolutely backbreaking, pretty much seven day work weeks which we do was all fraudulent.”
The eldest McBee son confessed, “I feel like the last two to three years have aged me about 10 to 15 years.”
Steven admitted that he was ready for “closure” with his dad’s sentencing after it was rescheduled four times.
“I can deal with anything if I know what’s happening. It’s the anticipation and the unknown that makes it so bad on you,” Steven said.
When it comes to how Steve was feeling about the situation, Steven explained his father is actually “the best” at dealing with the stress.
“My dad is the most stress-tolerant man I’ve ever been around,” Steven revealed, calling himself the “worst” of the family. “I’m a stress ball 24-7.”
Steven added that fans will see what transpired in real-time with their family and their dad’s prison sentencing when The McBee Dynasty, which was renewed earlier this fall, returns for season 3.
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