A Tennessee man with the same full name as the late baseball legend Babe Ruth is accused of using historical baseball-inspired false identities to commit a fraud scheme across the country.
George Herman Ruth, 69, of Morristown, carried out “an elaborate, nationwide scheme” by using stolen Social Security numbers and the names of dead or retired baseball players to fraudulently request funds from class action settlements, the Justice Department announced last week.
Ruth sought funds from settlements related to everything from banking to the pricing of contact lenses, seeking or obtaining more than $550,000, according to court documents.
To further the alleged scheme, Ruth opened dozens of P.O. boxes across 10 Tennessee cities, submitting hundreds of claims and laundering the proceeds through a sham business called El Mundo Marketing, LLC, per the documents.
As he sought these funds between 2023 and July 2025, Ruth allegedly seemed to indulge in his nominal tie to big league history, using the names of not only retired current players, but deceased professional sluggers who played for now-defunct teams including the Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Browns.
On August 12, a federal grand jury returned a 91-count indictment accusing Ruth of mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, money laundering, false statements to a probation officer, and possessing firearms after previously being convicted of felonies.
Willy Santana, a public defender representing Ruth, told The New York Times on Monday he could not comment on the pending case.
If convicted, Ruth could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Social Security Administration, and Morristown Police Department assisted in investigating Ruth, officials said.
In 2020, Ruth was convicted of being part of group attempting to scam more than $1 million in Social Security benefits, part of what authorities at the time called Ruth’s attempt at “making a career of getting something for nothing.”
