Lenny Dykstra, an All-Star outfielder who played for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, and appeared on business television shows in California as a expert stock picker, has pleaded not guilty today to fraud, theft and drug charges.
Dykstra pleaded not guilty in Federal District Court in California June 13 to charges of bankruptcy fraud. Dykstra, 48, who is living in Murietta, Calif., is involved in two separate criminal cases each involving multiple charges. In the federal case, he is charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California of stripping his $18 million mansion of valuables, which resulted in charges of obstruction of justice, concealing property from the bankruptcy estate, embezzlement and making false declarations to the Bankruptcy Court, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He originally filed for bankruptcy in July 2009.
Today he pleaded not guilty to nearly two dozen counts of fraud, grand theft and drug possession by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
-Karen DeMasters