ALAMEDA — Nicholas Stellato, 53, the former rear commodore of the Ballena Bay Yacht Club, is facing criminal charges for allegedly using false information to secure a $224,276 federal grant and spending a large portion for personal gain, according to court records.
Stellato is charged with grand theft, making a false statement on a financial form, and money laundering. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 27 and remains out of custody while the case proceeds.
This is not Stellato’s first brush with similar allegations. In 2020, he was charged in a still-pending case for allegedly stealing from an AIDS charity in Pennsylvania during 2015-2016.
According to court records, Stellato joined the yacht club as rear commodore in 2018, partly due to his 6-foot-7 stature and ability to assist with heavy tasks. However, suspicions arose over the years. In 2019, a representative from a Philadelphia AIDS charity warned the club about Stellato’s alleged past theft, and club members suspected $20,000 in embezzlement, prompting them to remove him from his leadership role. Despite this, he returned to the board in 2021 amid declining membership and financial struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Authorities say that in May 2021, Stellato filed a grant application falsely claiming the club qualified as a restaurant or bar, receiving $224,276.43 in federal pandemic relief funds. He allegedly transferred $175,000 to his own internet services company, purportedly created to help club members improve internet speeds.
The yacht club, a nonprofit, was not eligible for the restaurant relief grant. According to court filings, Stellato spent $82,674 on himself, including cash withdrawals, transfers, travel, restaurants, and the purchase of a Jeep. The yacht club’s CEO learned of the grant through a media report in August 2021 and referred the matter to police.
Stellato was charged in May 2025. The yacht club declined to comment on ongoing litigation but confirmed that Stellato is no longer affiliated with the organization.
