A Tennessee man named George Herman Ruth — no, not the one you’re probably thinking of — was indicted earlier this month for fraud, including using the names of hundreds of deceased or retired professional baseball players to submit fraudulent class action claims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee said on Thursday.
A federal grand jury indicted Ruth on charges that included 91 counts of mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering and fraudulent use of Social Security numbers on Aug. 12. According to the indictment, Ruth facilitated “an elaborate, nationwide scheme” involving fraudulent class action claims and a sham business used to launder money, in an attempt to gain more than $550,000.
The Athletic has reached out to Ruth’s attorney for comment.
Ruth, 69, is from Morristown, Tenn., and shares a name with baseball legend Babe Ruth, whose full name is also George Herman Ruth.
The indictment does not specify which baseball players’ names specifically Ruth used in the alleged fraud, but according to court documents, he used names of former athletes, including a retired pitcher for the Oakland Athletics and a retired outfielder for the San Francisco Giants.
He also allegedly used the names of deceased players, including an infielder for the Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Brown Stockings. The Brown Stockings played from 1876 to 1877, and different versions of the Philadelphia Athletics date back to the 1860s.
According to the indictment, Ruth would submit fraudulent class action claim forms using names that included those of retired and deceased professional baseball players, use Social Security numbers that did not belong to him, impersonate people while communicating with class action administrators and list addresses belonging to mailboxes he controlled.
Ruth previously pled guilty and was sentenced to prison for Social Security and IRS fraud in 2020. He went on supervised release in 2023.
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