Identity Theft Is Not A Joke: Man With Same Name As Babe Ruth Now Faces A Hundred Charges Of Fraud
MPI. Getty Images.ESPN -- A Tennessee man with the same name as New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth is facing charges alleging that he used the names of hundreds of dead or retired pro baseball players to make phony claims for payouts in class action settlements.
George Herman Ruth is charged with 91 counts in the indictment handed down in U.S. District Court in Greeneville, Tennessee, on Aug. 12, the U.S. attorney's office announced late last week. The 69-year-old from Morristown is charged with mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, money laundering, making false statements to his probation officer and possessing firearms after having previously been convicted of felonies.
The Sultan of Swat. The King of Crash. The Colossus of Clout. The Great Bambino.
If your last name is "Ruth", and your parents have the nerve to actually name you "George Herman"? Well you're pretty much born to commit identity theft at that point. Your destiny has been signed, sealed, and delivered right then and there in the delivery room. I mean literally the first thing you did in your life is commit identity theft. You popped out of your mom's vagina, dad cut the umbilical cord, and you committed your first case of fraud when the doctor asked what his name is.
Imagine growing up with that your entire life. Think about how the brain of a child works. You're 8-years-old and you've been told your whole life so far that you are the greatest baseball player to ever live. What's to stop your brain from thinking you could also be hundreds of other baseball players throughout history? What's to stop your brain from saying you're also Mickey Mantle or Lou Gehrig or Ty Cobb or Stan Musial.
I don't think we're dealing with some sort of criminal mastermind here. I think we have a 'Shutter Island' situation on our hands. It's almost like if 'Shutter Island' and 'Field of Dreams' had a baby. A man who truly believes that he is the living embodiment of all these dead baseball greats. And if you actually spend every day thinking you are Babe Ruth and all of his pals, well then it's probably going to be pretty difficult to hold down a regular job. So you need to figure out a way to make money one way or another. Turns out lawsuits over contact lenses is the easiest way to get paid.
ESPN -- The indictment says Ruth obtained or attempted to obtain more than $550,000 through the scheme. He sought payouts in lawsuit settlements that ranged from contact lens pricing allegations to claims of racial discrimination against a staffing agency, the indictment adds.
Now the part that really sticks out to me here is the lawsuit claiming "racial discrimination against a staffing agency". The list of names he's accused of using hasn't been released, but I'm starting to think this ol' son of a gun must assumed the identity of Jackie Robinson. That kind of feels like blackface-adjacent to me. He must have been thinking he was Ty Cobb when he came up with that idea.
It's all very interesting, and we need to find out way more about this George Herman Ruth. We need to know if he's an actual criminal who has spent his entire adult life trying to cheat the system, or if he's actually just a crazy person who was raised to think he is multiple baseball greats. That's where I'd start building the defense case, at least.