Tennessee man with Babe Ruth's name charged in fraud case involving dead baseball players' identities
George Herman Ruth allegedly submitted hundreds of fraudulent claims in class action lawsuits
By
Mike Axisa
•
1 min read
A Tennessee man with the same name as legendary ballplayer Babe Ruth has been indicted on charges related to a scheme in which he allegedly used the names of hundreds of dead or retired baseball players to make phony claims in class action lawsuits. George Herman Ruth, 69, faces 91 counts of mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, money laundering, making false statements to his probation officer, and possessing firearms after having previously been convicted of felonies.
Here are more details from the Eastern District of Tennessee U.S. Attorney's Office:
According to the filed indictment, beginning in January 2023 and continuing until July 10, 2025, Ruth devised and implemented an elaborate, nationwide scheme to submit hundreds of fraudulent claim forms to class action administrators around the country. When doing so, Ruth located pending class action suits and fraudulently used the names of hundreds of deceased or retired professional baseball players and the Social Security numbers of numerous unwitting victims. Ruth also opened post office boxes around the Eastern District of Tennessee to facilitate the scheme and used a sham business, El Mundo Marketing LLC, to obtain an account through which he laundered the proceeds. The indictment alleges that Ruth obtained or attempted to obtain more than $550,000 through the scheme.
The names of the players were not identified in the indictment. Some are described as having played for long ago franchises like the Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Browns, and Kansas City Packers.
Ruth's scheme allegedly included payouts ranging from lawsuits involving contact lens pricing allegations to racial discrimination against a staffing agency, according to the Associated Press. If convicted, Ruth faces up to 20 years in prison with a mandatory two-year sentence, and a fine up to $250,000.
Babe Ruth the ballplayer played 22 seasons from 1914-1935, primarily with the New York Yankees. He slugged 714 home runs in his career, which stood as the all-time record until Henry Aaron hit his 715th home run on April 8, 1974.
