New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman is suing his former financial advisor and money manager, claiming that the advisor stole $3 million and used it to fund luxury purchases including trysts with an exotic dancer.
Chapman, whose full name is Albertín Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz, filed a lawsuit in mid-October naming Coral Springs, Fla.-based Pro Management Resources and several individuals as defendants in the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida.
Pro Management Resources became Chapman’s financial handler nearly a decade ago, according to documents filed with the court, serving as both business manager and financial advisor to the pitcher. The firm handled Chapman’s banking, credit card and investment accounts as well as securing loans and mortgages, paying his bills and preparing his tax filings.
The suit alleges that, beginning four years ago, Pro Management Resources and Benito Zavala Jr., the employee charged with managing the day-to-day aspects of Chapman’s accounts, diverted an amount believed to be in excess of $3 million to benefit Zavala and two other individuals—a Florida-based exotic dancer and her brother—via cash transfers and purchases without Chapman’s knowledge.
The suit also alleges that Zavala took out credit lines in Chapman’s name without permission, using them to pay for his personal expenses.
The funds were then allegedly used to purchase a “near $1 million residence,” automobiles, first-class plane tickets, clothing, jewelry and “other luxury goods.”
Chapman, 32, signed what is considered the largest contract ever for a relief pitcher, a five-year, $86 million deal, in 2016. Known as the “Cuban Missile” and the “Cuban Flame Thrower,” he is a six-time Major League Baseball all-star and holds the Guinness World Record for fastest pitch, with a fastball once clocked at 105.1 mph.
A native Spanish speaker, Chapman speaks little English, according to the court documents, and has little knowledge of financial matters, and thus left the majority of his financial life in the hands of Pro Management Resources.
The suit further alleges that the firm, along with Anthony Chiricosta, one of its principals, did not inform Chapman after learning of the unauthorized transfers, and instead attempted to conceal the alleged embezzlement. Chiricosta and Zavala are also accused of failing to maintain supervision over Chapman’s accounts and a record of transactions involving his assets.
Chapman is seeking redress for his losses and injunctive relief to prevent Zavala, Chiricosta and other individuals from disposing of assets acquired with funds that allegedly were stolen from him.