Agent and Trainer Seek Light Sentences for Smuggling in Cuban Ballplayers

On October 10, 2017, baseball agent Bartolo Hernandez and sports trainer Julio Estrada requested a Florida federal judge give light sentences — instead of the government’s request for harsher sentences — for their convictions for smuggling Cuban baseball players into the United States. In March, a Miami jury convicted Hernandez and Estrada for their roles in a scheme that coerced vulnerable baseball players, obtained false documents, and assisted in fraudulent and outright illegal entry into the U.S. Hernandez faces 3 to 15 years in prison …

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Businessman Alleges Major Leaguer Paid Human Smugglers

Gilberto Suarez — a South Florida businessman who finances the transition of foreign baseball plays to Major League Baseball  in exchange for a portion of their contract — filed suit in a Florida federal court on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 alleging that his client breached a contract and instead paid human smugglers.

According to the complaint, Suarez made an arrangement with Miguel Alfredo Gonzales, a newly-defected Cuban prospect, who was in need of a sponsor. Suarez claims he agreed to pay Gonzalez’s expenses in exchange …

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