Former White Sox executive, David Wilder, pleads guilty in fraud case
In the end, crime does pay and in respect to baseball, that saying got the backing of a recent development that has come through.
David Wilder, who served on the Chicago White Sox board, has pleaded guilty to fraud charges pertaining to a scheme that had earned the accused $400,000 from contract buy backs and signing bonuses.
The scheme targeted Latin American players, who were totalled to be 23, between the December of 2004 and February 2008.
"I understand what I have done", said Wilder.
Wilder had been White Sox Minor League Director for four years before he was made the club’s senior director of player personnel. He was eventually terminated from the post in 2008 following suspicion and investigation by the federal authorities.
He served as the Minor League Director from 2003 to 2006, before moving up in the organization.
The Chicago White Sox have been trying to prepare for the coming season and the new development only gives the management a heads up in their role of the verdict. Wilder’s legal representative, Thomas Beinert Jr. has expressed David’s apology to the club.
"He apologizes to the White Sox and any others that he harmed", Beinert said.
The White Sox had reported Wilder’s suspicious activities to the legal authorities before indictments were issued to apprehend the executive, along with two other team management members.
White Sox scouts, Jorge Oquendo, and, Victor Mateo, were the other individuals involved with Wilder.
The club has issued a statement on the verdict that was announced recently.
"The Chicago White Sox are gratified but also saddened by today's admission of guilt by David Wilder and his plea agreement with the federal government. We are pleased that his case has been resolved and that he will face responsibility for his crimes, but
we also remain saddened by the betrayal of trust, the involvement of innocent players, the abuse of the system, and the impact his criminal actions inflicted on this organization".
The club will be content with the proceedings. If not anything else, the club has earned good publicity from the events that have unfolded.
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