Major League Baseball (MLB) agent Bart Hernandez is accused of masterminding a human-trafficking scheme. Bart Hernandez was first arrested on February of this year.
Prosecutors on Tuesday alleged that agent Bart Hernandez is behind the human-trafficking scheme that smuggled to the United States some of the most high profile Cuban baseball players today, including Chicago White Sox infielder and first baseman Jose Abreu. Prosecutors also said that Bart Hernandez signed an agreement with Joan "Nacho" Garcia to bring in high-value baseball players.
Joan "Nacho" Garcia was a well-known smuggler in Cuba. He was the head of a scheme that ran Cubans into the United States through Mexico. Joan "Nacho" Garcia was killed in 2009.
Bart Hernandez and his partner, Julio Estrada, were part of a conspiracy with Joan "Nacho" Garcia, prosecutors said. According to a court filing, Bart Hernandez signed an agreement with Joan Garcia's mother to work with him. This was after Bart Hernandez travelled to Mexico to meet with Joan Garcia back in April 2009.
Seven months later, Joan Garcia was kidnapped. He was later presumed dead. Even with the death of Joan Garcia, the human trafficking scheme continued under the new leader of the smuggling ring, Eliezer Lazo. Court records said that when players arrived in Mexico, they were told that they would be shot if they attempted to flee. There was one incident when a player tried to escape. Joan Garcia called the wife of the player and told her that he would kill the player if he didn't return.
Joan Garcia, and later on Eliezer Lazo, only smuggled ordinary Cubans at first. According to prosecutors, the cost of smuggling one person was $10,000 and the smuggled Cubans were held hostage in prison-like conditions. Baseball players are a different story. Because of the high demand for Cuban baseball players, the cost of smuggling them has boomed the last 5 years. Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are willing to spend huge amounts of money just to get their hands on elite talents like Jose Abreu. The Chicago White Sox signed Jose Abreu to a six-year, $68 million contract.
Prosecutors alleged that Jose Abreu paid more than $6.4 million to both Bart Hernandez and Julio Estrada. The payment was part of the $8.9 million in money that investigators have accounted for among 17 players. Prosecutors also believe that almost 35 players were smuggled with the help of Bart Hernandez and Julio Estrada and that the two of them earned $15 million.
Bart Hernandez has worked with the Praver Shapiro Agency. The two principals of Praver Shapiro, Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro, has not faced allegations of involvement in the scheme. If convicted, Bart Hernandez could face up to 5 years in federal prison.
