Man with Babe Ruth’s name allegedly used identities of dead baseball players to steal class action money
A Tennessee man and namesake of MLB icon Babe Ruth used the IDs of former and late baseball player to wrongly cash in on class action lawsuit settlements, federal prosecutors said recently.
George Herman Ruth, a 69-year-old Morristown resident, was indicted on suspicion of mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and money laundering among other charges in a 91-count indictment.
The suspect shares a name with Babe Ruth, born George Herman Ruth on Feb. 6, 1895, who went on to revolutionize baseball as the “Sultan of Swat,” hitting home runs at a pace never before seen in America’s pastime.
Starting in early 2023, the modern day Ruth allegedly used the names of 25 retired or deceased baseball players to attach himself to class action lawsuit settlements.
Ruth “would use the fraud proceeds he obtained to pay for personal expenses and trips, such as a trip to Las Vegas and to casinos in Virginia, North Carolina, and elsewhere,” according to the indictment.
The indictment didn’t list the names of 25 retired or deceased players used in Ruth’s alleged plot.
Federal prosecutors did, however, offer clues to each ID, essentially turning the indictment into “Immaculate Grid,” a popular online game that challenges baseball fans to name a player based solely on the clue of three teams he once played for.
For example, player No. 12 in the indictment is called a retired first basemen who suited up for the Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins and New York Mets.
Ruth allegedly used some deep cut references in this scam, such as with player No. 14, a late shortstop and third baseman for the Chicago Colts, Brooklyn Superbas, New York Giants and Boston Doves.
The Colts were the late 19th century Chicago Cubs, the Brooklyn-rooted Los Angeles Dodgers were known as the Superbas from 1899 through 1910, the San Francisco Giants were born in New York before moving west in the winter of 1957-58 and the nomadic Atlanta Braves were the Boston Doves from 1907 through 1910.
Ruth allegedly scored at least five payments of $756.84 from the settlement of a racial discrimination lawsuit against a staffing agency and beauty supply company in the Chicago area, which allegedly refused to hire African Americans.
For these payments, Ruth allegedly used the names of a catcher from the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins; an infielder with Philadelphia Athletics and 19th century St. Louis Brown Stockings; an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland A’s; an Oakland pitcher; and a pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Browns.
Ruth and his defense attorney did not immediately return emails and phone calls, seeking their comments on Tuesday.