Feds Charge Ex Chicago White Sox Executive and Two Former Scouts for Taking Kickbacks from Players’ Signing Bonuses

David S. Wilder, a former baseball player scouting executive for the Chicago White Sox and two other former scouts for the team in Latin America were indicted by a federal grand jury on federal fraud charges for allegedly taking kickbacks of approximately $400,000 from signing bonuses and contract buyouts paid to 23 prospective players from 2004 until 2008. A multi-count indictment alleges that the White Sox baseball team was defrauded of money, as well as the honest services of the defendants, who allegedly concealed the kickbacks from the team and its more senior officials.

Charged with seven counts of mail fraud were Wilder, the White Sox farm system director from late 2003 to 2006, when he became the team’s senior director of player personnel until May 2008, and Jorge L. Oquendo Rivera, the White Sox Latin American scout between November 2004 and October 2007. Victor Mateo, a White Sox scout in the Dominican Republic between November 2006 and May 2008, was charged with three counts of mail fraud. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of unspecified illegal proceeds from the alleged fraud scheme.

In order to facilitate the scheme, Wilder, Oquendo and Mateo allegedly misrepresented to the White Sox the amount of money need to sign players and omitted information about the payments, causing the Sox to pay artificially inflated signing bonuses to players, and causing the Sox to purchase the contracts of and rights to players from other teams at artificially and fraudulently inflated prices. The indictment does not specify the amounts of kickbacks allegedly obtained from signing certain players, nor does it name specific players.