EXCLUSIVE Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star accused of 'stealing' $100,000 from ailing relative after alleging her bank account was 'drained'

Daily Mail​

26-05-2025

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Britani Bateman has been accused of not paying back $100,000 to her former mother-in-law in a new civil lawsuit.
Sandra Underwood, the mom of Britani's ex John Scott Underwood, filed a lawsuit against the 53-year-old earlier this month for allegedly not upholding a prior agreement in which the reality star had agreed to return $100,000 during a time of need.
In the complaint, exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com, Sandra, 87, accuses Britani of using the $100,000 for 'her own personal benefit.' The money was deposited into a trust fund, of which Britani was named as a trustee back in 2021.
The complaint states, 'Britani willfully, maliciously and through intentionally fraudulent conduct, also converted Plaintiff's funds and now refuses to repay the funds.'
Part of an exhibit included in the May 6th filing is a letter Sandra's attorney sent to Britani in March requesting she return $100,000, which the ailing relative contributed to the corpus of a trust titled Integrity Trust. The Trust was created by Britani's father, Melvin Merrill Martin, with Britani as a trustee and beneficiary.
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The corpus - commonly referred to as the 'body' of the trust - represents the assets the trust is managing and is essentially the principal that is transferred into the trust and held by the trustee for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
Sandra deposited the $100,000 into the trust, which was money she had gotten from the sale of her home in June 2021. At the time, per the court filing, Britani 'urged' Sandra to contribute this amount to the corpus with the understanding that she could 'request it be withdrawn at anytime and it would be returned to her without objection.'
In addition, Sandra contributed $217,000 - which she's not asking a return of - into building a home for herself on Britani's 10,000 square feet property in Provo, Utah, which is currently being renovated.
The TV personality's 'dream home' has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and two kitchens. The other house on the massive property, called the 'Casita', has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen, the Bravo star shared in a recent interview with Realtor.com.
Her renovation list includes 'building out a pool and a really beautiful backyard' and 'another garage with an apartment above,' so the property can be an open home for 'nieces, nephews, [and] kids that need a place to live temporarily,' she said.
In the March legal letter that was fired off to the real estate developer, Sandra's lawyers note that Britani 'implicitly agreed' that her mother-in-law was entitled to the money, and 'said something to the effect of, "I don't know why not."'
Sandra, who is nearly 90 years old, allegedly 'does not have sufficient income' to pay for independent living or cover costs for her medical care and prescriptions for her undisclosed health issues, per the letter filed with the complaint.
Her lawyer requested that Britani have 'simple decency and morality' to pay back the $100,000 so that Sandra could 'be able to live out her life in a semi comfortable way.' He states that he had hoped to resolve this issue within a reasonable time period, but after not hearing back from Britani or her lawyer, he filed the complaint less than two months later.
Meanwhile, she alleged that her ex-husband John Scott Underwood (pictured), who is Sandra's son, 'drained' her bank account and cut her off from their shared businesses
In the complaint, Sandra is requesting that she receive the $100,000 back 'plus interest at the statutory prescribed rate' from the date the money was transferred to the trust in 2021. She is also requesting Britani pay her attorney fees and costs of collection, plus a punitive award of up to three times the amount of her losses.
Britani has yet to file her response to the complaint. DailyMail.com reached out to her attorney for comment.
DailyMail.com previously reported on the RHOSLC newbie's messy divorce in which she accused Sandra's son and her ex John Scott Underwood of 'draining' her bank accounts and cutting her off from their shared businesses.
The reality star filed for divorce from John on March 20, 2023, and it was finalized in October of that year. However, she informed the court in December 2024 that he had been non-compliant with the Domestics Relations Injunction.
Britani detailed in the court documents what violations Underwood is accused of, including 'unauthorized expenditure of business funds on personal expenses, failure to add Britani to accounts related to the businesses of the parties, unauthorized draining of the account of the parties' business and failure to operate the businesses consistent with the parties' historical manner.'
Their shared businesses include the Starwood Group, a real estate development company, Pure Productions, an entertainment production company, and Millcreek Builders, a construction company.
In a separate lawsuit, Britani and John are embroiled in another war over how he treated her during their six-and-a-half year marriage.
She filed a complaint for intentional tort shortly after their divorced was finalized, claiming she suffered 'severe emotional distress' during their marriage, and alleged that he demanded she have sex with him multiple times per day.
She also alleged other instances depicting his 'controlling' behavior, including 'dictating what clothing, makeup, perfume, and other beauty products Britani could and could not wear or use, both in and out of his presence.'
In a statement sent to DailyMail.com, Underwood's attorney Randy S. Keste denied Bateman's allegations, saying, 'This is just one of many vexatious cases for which Ms. Underwood has had the impetus, often making false and exaggerated claims. At least three prior cases which she was behind have already been dismissed.'
Both lawsuits are still ongoing with the parties having scheduled upcoming hearings.
Britani joined RHOSLC last season as a friend of Heather Gay. Once season six began filming in March, she was spotted filming with the cast from last season around Utah.
Her other job is selling homes as a real estate agent. Earlier this year, she switched her license to work with Presidio, the brokerage of the Bravo show Sold on SLC.
She is known for still being part of the Mormon community - despite some of her castmates cutting ties - and remains an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
She brought the drama last season after allegedly recording the cast's private conversations on her phone in a sprinter van and having heated arguments with cast members Bronwyn Newport and Angie Katsanevas.
The star is also known for having an on-again, off-again relationship with Donny Osmond 's nephew, Jared Osmond, who made a few appearances in season five.