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$40 million yacht owned by Betsy DeVos' family vandalized, police say

Posted at 10:58 AM, Jul 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-26 10:59:47-04

A yacht owned by the family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos suffered between $5,000 and $10,000 worth of damage over the weekend in northern Ohio after vandals untied the boat from its dock.

According to a report from the Huron Police Department obtained by BuzzFeed News, police were called to the Huron Boat Basin on Sunday by the crew of the SeaQuest. The ship's captain, Quintynn Botha, said the boat's crew awoke that morning to find it had been untied and was adrift from the dock.

The crew was able to regain control of the yacht only after it hit the dock, causing a number of scratches to the starboard side. Brotha estimated the damage at between $5,000 and $10,000.

Police spoke with employees at the boat basin to see if any surveillance footage was available.

According to the Toledo Blade, the boat is registered to RDV International Marine LTD, which is registered at the same address as the RDV Corporation — the company that manages the DeVos' fortune.

Betsy DeVos is the daughter of Edgar Prince, the founder of the Prince Corporation, a manufacturing company. DeVos is also married to Dick DeVos, the former CEO of Amway and son of the company's founder.

Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.