Phillies Former Pitcher Roy Oswalt Victim of Ponzi Scheme
A former Philadelphia Phillies starting pitching ace was among several athletes named as victims in an investment Ponzi-scheme
The stirrup sock wearing Roy Oswalt appears to have been victimized in a Ponzi-scheme according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that was unsealed in Dallas federal court. Among the athletes named in the report were former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez and former starting pitcher Jake Peavy.
The lawsuit alleges that all three used the same broker, Ash Narayan, formerly of RGT Capital Management.
In the original report from Investment News, the three athletes contributed a combined $30 million to the fraud broker, who allegedly used their faith and other charitable interests to defraud them of million.
Mr. Narayan allegedly took the money designated to be invested in low-risk assets and placed it in a failing ticket-resale company, which he sat on the executive board and managed fundraising.
"Mr. Narayan concealed multiple conflicts of interest from investors, the SEC said in its lawsuit against him. He directed the athletes’ cash to The Ticket Reserve Inc., which allows fans to reserve face-value tickets to sporting events where the teams have yet to be determined, the SEC said. He was on the company’s board of directors, owned more than 3 million shares and was its primary fundraiser — raising more than 90% of the company’s investment capital, the agency said.All three athletes sought low-risk, conservative investment strategies, the SEC said. Mr. Narayan ignored their requests and instead invested in TTR even as the company’s financial conditions were in distress."
The case is titled “Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ash Narayan, 16-cv-1417, U.S. District Court, Norther District of Texas (Dallas)”
The Phillies acquired Oswalt from the Houston Astros as they tried to keep their championship core alive back in 2010 for starting pitcher J.A. Happ, and minor league prospects Jon Singleton and Anthony Gose.
In two seasons with the Phillies Oswalt had a 16-11 record with a 2.96 ERA. When the Phillies originally acquired Oswalt, he pitched incredibly well, sporting a 7-1 record and an ERA under 2.00 during their playoff push.
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After injuring his back cleaning up from a tornado in his home town, Oswalt was never the same as a pitcher. He went on to spend two more years in the majors with the Rangers and Rockies before announcing his retirement.
Oswalt is just as memorable for his time playing left field during a game that went into extra-innings after Ryan Howard was ejected. Raul Ibanez moved down to first base and the Phillies sent whichever pitcher could get their cleats on the fastest out to left field.
Of course, the first out was recorded by Oswalt on an easy fly ball against his former team.
As a member of the Houston Astros, Oswalt was in the top five in Cy Young voting for five years. In his 2010 season in Philadelphia, he finished sixth on the ballot. During his four playoff appearances for the Phillies he made three starts and had a 1-2 record.