MLB agent Bart Hernandez was arrested Friday morning in Miami after a grand jury indicted him on human trafficking charges related to bring current Seattle Mariners (and former Texas Rangers) outfielder Leonys Martin into the US from Cuba in 2010, according to Yahoo Sports. If convicted, Hernandez could face a minimum of three years and a maximum prison sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The indictment says Hernandez “did willingly … and knowingly conspire, confederate, and agree with Eliezer Lazo, Joel Martinez Hernandez, and other persons … to commit an offense against the United States.” Lazo, the mastermind of the smuggling scheme, pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy and was sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison. He was already serving a five-year sentence for Medicare fraud. Martinez Hernandez was jailed for the Medicare-fraud case as well.
Hernandez works for Magnus Sports, the agency founded by Marc Anthony back in November, and represents several high profile Cuban players that have either recently defected to the US or are now mainstays in MLB. One of their clients is Aroldis Chapman, who had a tumultuous winter of his own.
White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu’s initial appear in the report, and while Abreu isn’t a client of Magnus, he is represented by Relativity Baseball, the former employer of Hernandez.
Martin filed a lawsuit which alleges that Lazo and Martinez Hernandez held his family hostage while his five year, $15.5 million contract with the Texas Rangers was negotiated. $1.2 million was paid by Martin to Estrellas del Baseball, a front for those two’s smuggling operation. Bart Hernandez’s company, Global Sports Management, remains in arbitration for fees owed to Martin, and Hernandez had been actively representing players until his arrest today.
