MLB Suspends Dominican Prospect Over Age-Fraud Allegations
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Sources: MLB suspends prospect in fake-age plot Major League Baseball has suspended a once-prized Dominican prospect after uncovering an age-fraud plot that included a fictitious death, sources told ESPN.
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The Guardian SportA once-prized prospect from the Dominican Republic has been suspended by Major League Baseball after a league investigation revealed the player was part of an elaborate plot to portray him as nearly two years younger than he actually was, ESPN reported Friday.
CBS SportsMajor League Baseball has suspended a low-level Cleveland Guardians prospect after uncovering evidence of falsified age and identity, ESPN reports.
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A switch-hitting infielder going by the name of David Severino agreed in December to a $2.8m pre-deal with the Cleveland Guardians, who reportedly believed the player was 13 or 14 years old. The deal was set to be finalized in 2029, when Severino was expected to be 17 and eligible to officially sign.
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CBS SportsThe Guardians originally signed a prospect known as David Severino in December of 2025 as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic. At the time, the Guardians believed he was 13 or 14 years old, which meant the $2.8 million deal would not be completed until 2029. According to Wilber Sánchez, the Guardians terminated the agreement in May of this year after learning that Severino was two years older than he had claimed. According to ESPN, the prospect's real name is Daury Severino Damaso.
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"The MLB investigation uncovered a series of extreme efforts by the player's handler to make him appear nearly two years younger than he actually is, including faking a birth certificate to create a new identity, falsifying medical and school records, filing a fraudulent death certificate and even creating the gravesite scene, according to sources.
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The Guardian SportThe age-fraud plot included extreme efforts by the player’s handler such as falsifying school and medical records, faking birth and death certificates and even staging a gravesite, per the report.
6 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 ESPN Man who posed as 49er facing federal charges Federal authorities have arrested and charged Daejon Love with pretending to be a member of the 49ers and along with Taylor Jamie Chan, defrauding more than two dozen women out of over $1 million.
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02 Yonhap Sports By Yoo Jee-ho SEOUL, Aug. 28 (Yonhap) -- Choi Ji-man, a former major leaguer currently playing in the South Korean minor league, will participate in a pre-draft workout for the top domestic competition, his club announced Friday, a move that all but confirms the veteran's entry into next month's draft.
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03 CBS Sports The NFL preseason is wrapping up and cut day is almost here. By Sunday, Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. ET, all 32 NFL clubs must trim their rosters to 53 players. Sunday is an unusual day for final roster cuts, but the change is due to the San Francisco 49ers being scheduled to fly to Melbourne this Wednesday for their Sept. 10 season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. While the 49ers benefit from this change, the Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans do not. They play their final preseason game on Saturday evening, so their front offices will have less than 24 hours to finalize their rosters!
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04 Yahoo Sports 49ers 53-man roster projection: Injuries cloud the picture at OL, LB and CB (paywall)"Barrows' counterpoint: Lowe could begin the season on injured reserve, which would put Pleasants in the swing tackle role he had last year and free up another roster spot. Toth's lingering concussion symptoms, meanwhile, create concern at backup center. If he can't play in Australia — or make the 16-hour plane trip — the 49ers would have to think about having Nugent or Kramer in uniform in Week 1. Perhaps Nugent will land on the practice squad and get elevated against the Rams."
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05 The Guardian Sport In reality, per ESPN’s sources, Severino is 16 years old and named Daury David Severino Damaso.
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06 Reuters Sports Feds say fake 49ers player swindled $1.3M from women - Reuters Feds say fake 49ers player swindled $1.3M from women Reuters
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Sources (6)
- cbssports
- yonhap-sports
- espn
- reuters-sports
- guardian-sport
- yahoosports