A former Major League Baseball player and his spouse have accused a Fort Lauderdale man of defrauding them out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by falsely promising them millions in an investment scam. As a result, the guy is being charged with two crimes.
Money laundering and first-degree grand theft are the charges against 54-year-old Lonnie Wayne Moss. On Thursday, he was checked into the Broward County jail.
The victims are identified as longtime MLB outfielder Todd Hollandsworth and his wife, Marci, in a Broward civil complaint filed in late July, but not in a probable cause document from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
According to court filings, Moss, a “friend and financial investor,” promised the Hollandsworths a $12.5 million return, which would be paid over ten months. However, the former major leaguer and his wife received nothing.
Moss “sent several text messages pushing the date further back,” according to the police, but he remained in contact with the pair.
According to the civil lawsuit, Lonnie and Misty Moss informed the couple repeatedly that the refunds will be “paid out next week.” The Mosses never meant to invest the money, according to the lawsuit.
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According to an affidavit written by FLPD investigator Kimberley Figone of the agency’s Economic Crimes Unit, a review of Moss’ bank records showed that he had spent over $75,000 on dinners, travel, and clothes in March 2022 alone.
According to Figone, Moss sent the remaining funds to a “unknown person” running an investment firm in West Palm Beach. The Hollandsworths are suing for over $1 million in damages, alleging contract violation, fraud, and civil theft.
As of Friday, there were no criminal charges pending against Moss’s wife, according to Broward court records. Moss, whose bond was set at $250,000, did not have a counsel named on file in either the criminal or civil case.
