Lenny Dykstra Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud, Money Laundering
Lenny Dykstra has more problems than Jay-Z, but it looks like maybe he's trying to put it all behind him.
This guy.
The baseball legend today pleaded guilty to federal allegations of bankruptcy fraud and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney's Office in L.A. announced.
What did he do?
He sold items from his $18 million Sherwood Estates (Encino) home that he bought from Wayne and Janet Gretsky despite having filed for bankruptcy. Some of that stuff included baseball memorabilia.
You see, you can't declare that you're broke and then hide valuable stuff from creditors.
Feds say that some of the cash he earned -- about $15,000 -- Dykstra then converted into a cashier's check in another person's name, thus committing another crime, money laundering.
Oops.
Ten creditors lost as much as $400,000 as a result of Dykstra's scheme, according to a U.S. Attorney's statement.
The U.S. Department of Justice's top dog in L.A., André Birotte Jr., got kind of cute with his statement today, saying:
Mr. Dykstra's days of playing games with the public and the legal system are over.
Right?
Anyway, Dykstra's already serving three years behind bars for grand theft auto. Turns out he was buying cars based on false documents. (We were the first to report that allegation. Woot-woot).
Oh, and there's also this lewd conduct case. (Prosecutors say he forced women he hired via Craigslist to massage him. Really).
This latest case could get him 20 years, but we doubt it, given that this appears to be a part of a plea bargain. (The exact charges are "bankruptcy fraud, concealment of assets, and money laundering," according to the U.S. Attorney's statement).
Not Dykstra's year.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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