The Massachusetts chef who cheated on his pregnant wife and moved to another state had racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt after spending his money on Ralph Lauren clothing and restaurants.
Charles Withers, who appeared in Texas working as a personal chef for Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and his wife Nicole after skipping Ashley McGuire, was sued by American Express in November for $55,000 he racked up on his restaurant’s credit card in Falmouth. Massachusetts.
Amex presented to the court credit card statements showing he spent $816 on Ralph Lauren clothing and hundreds of dollars at a Mexican restaurant in Falmouth.
He also spent $143 on tickets to Madame Tussauds in New York and $247 at a surf and skate shop.
Ashley McGuire, a 32-year-old Massachusetts mother (left), took to the popular Facebook message ‘Are we dating the same guy?’ group claiming her husband Charles Withers (pictured) had picked up and abandoned her family
DailyMail.com can reveal Withers had racked up debt of more than $55,000
Charles, who had previously appeared on a 2022 episode of Food Network’s Chopped, had been a rising star in the culinary world. He is said to have abandoned his restaurant C Salt Wine Bar and Grille (pictured) in Falmouth last summer after “sinking it into the ground”.
Withers’ other debts included a $13,167 Massachusetts state tax lien filed in January and another in March for $15,393.
The revelations shed new light on Withers’ financial problems and why he may have fled his family and moved 1,800 miles away to start a new life.
Furious customers at C Salt Wine Bar and Grille, Withers’ restaurant, complained in online forums that they had purchased gift cards to the establishment only to lose their value when it closed late last year.
Withers, 29, was forced into the spotlight this week when McGuire, 32, posted about him in the Facebook group ‘Are We Dating the Same Guy?’ after not being able to contact him for months.
Within hours, Dallas-area women responded saying they had seen him there, and some even said he had matched with them on dating apps.
After the story went viral, McGuire told a local radio station that Withers, who is British, had finally made contact and was prepared to speak to her.
Earlier this week, DailyMail.com reported that Withers left C Salt Wine Bar and Grille last summer after “putting it into the ground” and then abruptly left for Dallas, where he worked for Sheridan, 54.
But the lawsuit filed by Amex shows that Withers had been struggling financially for months before that.
The complaint, filed in November of last year, states that as of May 2023 – around the time she disappeared – she owed a total of $55,463.98 on her business credit card.
Ashley McGuire appeared on a Boston radio station this week after her story went viral and she revealed that her husband had contacted her.
Mother-of-two Ashley claimed he “left without a trace” and said she now wants to harness the “power” of social media to track him down and finalize the divorce.
“Single mothers are a special breed and I know many of you have been through the same situation as me,” she shared.
A statement covering December 2022 claims Withers spent $816.09 on Ralph Lauren clothing.
He spent hundreds of dollars at Casa Vallarta, a Mexican restaurant in Falmouth, including one visit where he paid $123.98 for a meal.
Another $143.67 went to tickets to Madame Tussauds in New York.
Some tickets appear to be legitimate restaurant expenses, such as $2,088.75 from The Clam Man, a local seafood vendor.
But other expenses are more questionable for a business card, like $25 to a company called ‘Tumble Time Gymnastics,’ which appears to be a children’s gym.
Withers stayed in touch with the news in the United Kingdom with his subscription to the Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper, for $12.99.
Another $247.45 went to Board Stiff, a surf and skate shop in Falmouth that appears to have no connection to the culinary industry.
The annual membership fee for the Business Platinum card was $595.
The statement indicates that Withers had accumulated 552,754 rewards points that would have required substantial spending and would have been worth $5,000 if he had spent them on flights.
Furious customers of C Salt Bar and Grille vented their anger on its TripAdvisor page last year when the restaurant closed.
Withers has appeared in Texas, where he works as a celebrity chef for Taylor Sheridan, the co-creator of Yellowstone, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Taylor and Nicole Sheridan won’t comment on whether Withers still works for them, and they haven’t even confirmed that he ever will. They are pictured with their 13-year-old son Gus.
The current status of Charles’ restaurant is not officially confirmed, but the restaurant is listed as “permanently closed” on Google and has come under heavy criticism on TripAdvisor.
A reviewer named Diane wrote: “My daughter gave us a gift card and we reserved our table for August 2. The reservation was confirmed by Open Table.”
One reviewer, named Bill, said he was “disgusted” with Withers and criticized him as a “classless landlord.”
When discussing his gift card, the disgruntled customer wrote: ‘I went to use it in November 2023 only to find out that the restaurant had closed and my gift card dollars had been stolen. That should be illegal, stealing customers’ unused money.
He said that “Charles Withers does not deserve any sponsorship for his deception.”
Another, named Diane, wrote: ‘My daughter gave us a gift card and we reserved our table for August 2nd. OpenTable confirmed the reservation.
‘We really wanted to have dinner, but we got there and it was closed. I don’t know why they didn’t tell us. I provided my contact information. As we were on holiday in Falmouth we will not have the opportunity to visit this restaurant again.
‘My daughter gave me a generous gift card for my birthday. “It was very unfortunate and costly for her and for us.”
McGuire’s search for her husband made him one of the most hated men in the country.
Jennifer Shuskha, who posts on TikTok under the name Jay Megan and calls herself an ‘internet detective,’ posted on Monday: ‘Would you look at that? It’s Charles Withers, America’s bastard.
Amex’s case against Withers was voluntarily dismissed last month.
The debt collection agency representing Amex did not respond to requests for comment.
Withers’ family did not respond to requests for comment and Withers’ own numbers did not work.
Sheridan’s spokesperson would not say whether the chef is still working, or even confirm if he ever did.