It’s been 77 years since George Herman “Babe” Ruth passed away, but a 69-year-old man bearing the same name—sans the “Babe” moniker—now faces the prospect of spending more than two decades in prison.
U.S. Attorney Francis M. (Trey) Hamilton III and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mac D. Heavener III along with other federal prosecutors, contend that George Herman Ruth masterminded a nationwide scheme that used the names of deceased or retired MLB players to submit hundreds of fraudulent claim forms to class action lawsuits.
The allegations are contained in an Aug. 12 indictment in a federal district court in Tennessee. Ruth, a resident of Morristown, Tenn., faces 25 counts of mail fraud, five counts of false use of a Social Security number, 30 counts of aggravated identity theft, five counts of promotional money laundering, 25 counts of making a false statement and one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
If convicted, Ruth could face up to 20 years in prison, plus a mandatory, consecutive two-year sentence, along with supervised release and fine of up to $250,000. Ruth’s firearms—a Remington, Model 710, 30-06 bolt action rifle and a Marlin 60, .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle—are also subject to forfeiture, as is his ammunition.
The late Babe Ruth famously said, “never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” It appears Ruth the defendant may have endorsed a similar philosophy: He’s already struck out committing crimes. The indictment stresses that Ruth “has previously been convicted of felony offenses” and served time behind bars. In 2020, Ruth was sentenced to 56 months in prison for involvement in a scheme where he and others “sought to enrich themselves by submitting false and fictitious IRS Forms purportedly from Lehman Brothers and other bankrupt companies” to the Social Security Administration.
From January 2023 to July 2025, while Ruth was on supervised release from his 2020 felonies, Ruth is accused of opening multiple post office boxes in Tennessee and then depicting those addresses as representing people whom he was impersonating. Ruth allegedly submitted fraudulent claim forms for monetary recovery in class actions, including the Vee Pak Staffing Settlement, which concerned alleged discrimination against Black temporary workers, and the Deere Credit Services Settlement, which regarded Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims and alleged use of an artificial or prerecorded voice to call consumer cell phones without consent. Prosecutors say that Ruth’s scheme “often generated substantial payments from class action administrators,” with Ruth receiving standard checks or electronic fund transfers.
To mitigate the risk of law enforcement detection, Ruth allegedly laundered the money through a “sham business” called El Mundo, which in English means “the world.” El Mundo, prosecutors say, didn’t have any real revenue or business expenses. Ruth opened a business checking account at a bank under the name El Mundo, with himself named as the “sole, designated representative” for the account. Ruth allegedly deposited checks he received from class action administrators into the account.
The names of the deceased and retired MLB players who Ruth allegedly impersonated are omitted from the indictment. However, the indictment shares identifying aspects, including players position and teams for which they played.
One player is a retired third baseman who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers. That description, including the sequence of teams in which he played, fits Adrián Beltré, though it’s undeterminable whether it’s actually him.
USA v. Ruth has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker, who last year issued an injunction against the NCAA’s enforcement of rules restricting NIL collectives and boosters.