Red Sox legend David Ortiz is warning people to be careful with how they handle their personal information, as the Hall of Famer alleges he is a victim of extortion and fraud.
Authorities in the U.S. and his native Dominican Republic are investigating the situation, the former slugger said in a video posted on his Instagram account early Wednesday morning.
“I am being the victim of extortion. There are people who hacked my phone from more than fifteen years ago who hadn’t used it in recent times,” Big Papi said in Spanish.
“He browsed through my personal life and wanted to extort me with that, meaning that he will sell part of my personal life from what he found on my phone,” Ortiz alleges.
Ortiz did not say how many people are involved in the case, adding the suspect(s) also allegedly defrauded his bank accounts. He did not disclose the specific actions or amount of money taken, according to ESPN Deportes.
The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration are investigating in the U.S., while the Police Intelligence Department is taking action on the case in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz explained.
“I wanted to make this video, not only because of the fear of what they could expose out there,” he said, “but also to give my people advance notice so that they are not going to get involved in any of this because the (police) department already is taking action, because it is totally illegal.”
Ortiz visited Fenway Park last Saturday, catching the first pitch prior to the Red Sox-Dodgers game from Middleborough’s Dominic Driscoll. The interaction between the two granted the wish of Driscoll, a baseball player entering the eighth grade who has a congenital heart condition.
Ortiz was on hand for the Red Sox-Astros game Tuesday night, as well.
In his video message Wednesday morning, Ortiz said despite being affectionately known for his bubbly personality, he wanted to use a “more serious tone than usual” to alert his fans and followers of the situation at hand, according to ESPN Deportes.
“It is about fraud and extortion which in the end ends with jail,” Ortiz said. “This can happen to anyone. These are things that happen and you have to be more careful, since this happens to let justice know about the situation.”