Report: Agent Bart Hernandez arrested on charges of human trafficking
MLB agent Bart Hernandez was arrested Friday following an indictment by a federal grand jury on human trafficking charges.
Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan broke the story, which has to do with the smuggling of outfielder Leonys Martin from Cuba to the United States.
Some more details about the case, from Passan's story:
The sealed indictment, filed in a Florida federal court Feb. 12, alleges that Hernandez – who now works for Magnus Sports, the agency founded by singer Marc Anthony – conspired with smugglers to bring Martin into the United States in August 2010. He is expected to appear at the U.S. District Court in Miami at 2 p.m. on Friday. If convicted on conspiracy and financial-gain charges, Hernandez faces up to 20 years in prison, with a minimum sentence of three years.
Passan notes that the indictment includes references to two of Hernandez's other clients, Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies' Dalier Hinojosa.
In the indictment, it is written that 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."
Martin, who was traded to the Seattle Mariners this offseason, filed a lawsuit in 2013 claiming that Hernandez and his partners Eliezer Lazo and Joel Martinez Hernandez held him and his family hostage while his initial MLB contract with the Texas Rangers was negotiated.
This developing story could have far-reaching ramifications for the state of international baseball in the United States.
