Fake Name, Age, Documents, and Even a Fake Tombstone: The Shocking Case of an MLB Prospect

A Latin American baseball prospect has shocked the baseball world after it was revealed that he signed with a Major League Baseball (MLB) club by fabricating his documents with a fake name and age.

Notably, it was discovered that in the process of forging birth and death certificates, a fake tombstone was even erected.

According to a report by the U.S. sports channel ESPN on its online edition on the 29th (Korean time), the MLB front office secured evidence that the age and identity of a prospect in the Cleveland Guardians organization were forged and suspended him.

The Cleveland Guardians signed a prospect from the Dominican Republic known as David Severino in December of last year.

However, after it was confirmed that Severino, who was thought to be around 13 to 14 years old, was actually two years older, the Cleveland club terminated the contract in May of this year.

Not only his age but also his name was fake.

His real name was Dauri Severino Damaso.

ESPN reported that the ringleaders attempting to scam the big leagues went to meticulous lengths, forging Dauri's birth certificate, medical records, and school attendance records, filing a false death report, and even setting up a fake grave.

They filed a false death report claiming that Dauri died of a respiratory illness in May 2012, just two years after he was born, and even erected a fake tombstone at a cemetery on the outskirts of the capital city of Santo Domingo.

Through this scheme, Dauri was dead, and the name David was newly born on paper.

ESPN reported that Francisco Nieves, Severino's former trainer, is suspected of orchestrating the fraud with the consent of the player's parents.

While there have often been cases where a player's age and name differed from reality, U.S. media outlets are expressing astonishment as this is the first time identity forgery has been uncovered as such an organized criminal operation.

The Cleveland club has previously suffered setbacks due to suspicions of player identity forgery.

In 2012, then-Cleveland pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested by police in the Dominican Republic while renewing his visa when it was revealed that both his name and age were fake.

His real name was Roberto Hernandez, and he was actually three years older.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.