Ex-Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays player Richard Butler and his wife have been charged in connection with an alleged youth baseball training fraud scheme in Canada.
\n\nBetween April 1 and Oct. 31 of last year, approximately $60,000 in registration fees for the 2025-2026 Ontario Devil Rays training program was allegedly deposited into a bank account associated with the program, police said in a news release Tuesday.
\n\nBut funds were later transferred to other accounts associated with the accused couple — Michelle Butler, 52, and former big leaguer Richard Butler, 53, both of Frankford, Ontario.
\n\nThe registration fees were allegedly not used for the program and the services as agreed on were not provided, police said.
\n\nCBC News notes families who paid the registration received an email on Oct. 19, 2025, saying the business had been dissolved due to financial hardship and claiming bankruptcy, police said.
\n\nFILE: Rich Butler #10 of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays looks on during a spring training game against the Cleveland Indians at the Ai Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida on 3 Mar 1998. The Devil Rays defeated the Indians 12-5. (Rick Stewart /Alls via Getty)
\n\nBut investigators later determined the lawyer’s name…
Original source: https://www.breitbart.com/sports/
