Coral Springs Police Investigating Allegations That Agent Stole From Baseball Player

Kendry Morales defected from Cuba to America so he could become a baseball star and get rich. The 26-year-old achieved the first part of that formula, hitting over .300 with 34 homers and 108 runs batted in for the Los Angeles Angels. But he's not quite as rich as he...

By Thomas Francis

February 26, 2010

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Kendry Morales defected from Cuba to America so he could become a baseball star and get rich. The 26-year-old achieved the first part of that formula, hitting over .300 with 34 homers and 108 runs batted in for the Los Angeles Angels. But he's not quite as rich as he should be, and police think his former agent, Rodney Fernandez, may be the reason.

Fernandez, who formerly worked for Hendricks Sports Management in Texas, is being investigated by the Coral Springs Police Department as well as the Major League Players Association for allegedly grabbing $300,000 from a bank account that belonged Morales.

In an interview with ESPN, Fernandez blames the Hendricks brothers who run his former firm:

Fernandez said that money taken out of Morales' bank account was used for expenses related to Hendricks Sports Management, all of which was done with the approval of firm co-founders Randy and Alan Hendricks. Fernandez also said that the Hendrickses were supposed to reimburse Morales for the money but never did.

"If I'm supposedly the person who took all that money, then how come now I don't have anything?" he said. "I don't deserve what is happening."

ESPN published an article about Morales and his sticky-fingered former agent in this week's issue.

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