Matthew Scanlan, chief executive officer of Something Navy, categorically denied rumors Wednesday that Brandon Charnas, who is married to Arielle Charnas, founder of Something Navy, had allegedly embezzled from the company.
“This is categorically false,” said Scanlan. “Brandon Charnas does not have access to company bank accounts. He is not an employee of the company, and he has no access points,” he said.
Rumors were flying on Reddit and all over the internet Tuesday evening and Wednesday that Brandon Charnas, cofounder of Current Real Estate, had allegedly embezzled from Something Navy and the couple were divorcing. A story was expected to come out in the Insider Thursday.
Brandon Charnas’ real estate company also denied there was an alleged embezzlement.
“Brandon Charnas is a cofounder of Current Real Estate. There has been no embezzlement at Current Real Estate,” said a spokeswoman for the real estate company.
The couple has three daughters.
As for the internet rumors that Arielle and Brandon Charnas were getting a divorce, a spokeswoman for Arielle Charnas said, “This is patently false. They are happily married and in love.”
Arielle Charnas, who began as an influencer and founded Something Navy in 2009, has been embroiled in controversy before. The company received backlash early in the pandemic when Arielle Charnas shared a series of Instagram posts showing her taking a COVID-19 test, which she secured through personal connections at a time when New York was limiting them to those exhibiting specific baseline symptoms, which Charnas didn’t seem to meet. After testing positive, she then shirked shelter-in-place mandates and left New York City to self-isolate in the Hamptons, which angered social media users, as reported. Charnas has 1.3 million followers on Instagram.
After an exclusive apparel partnership with Nordstrom (where at one point the line’s popularity crashed nordstrom.com) ended in 2019, Something Navy became a stand-alone fashion brand in 2020 and currently does e-commerce, wholesale and retail. Its products range from women’s wear, kids’ apparel, accessories and swimwear to homeware. Among its wholesale accounts are Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Intermix, Revolve and Shopbop. The company has four stores in Newport Beach and Los Angeles, California, and two in New York City.
Something Navy’s investors are Beliead Ventures, L Catterton, Vanterra Capital, Box Group, Jenny Fleiss, Silas Capital, Third Kind Venture Capital, SWAT Equity, Black Jays Ventures and The Seed Lab, among others.
