The wife of a Seattle Mariners baseball player has been accused of using another Mariners' wife’s debit card online to rack up nearly $180,000 in online charges from Saks Fifth Avenue.
Maria Peguero, wife of Mariners outfielder, Carlos Peguero, allegedly used the card of Sarah Hernandez, wife of Felix Hernandez, to make over 60 purchases between June and October 2012.
She faces federal wire-fraud charges and could be sentenced to a possible 20 years in prison if found guilty, according to the Seattle Times.
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| Victims: Mariners player Felix Hernandez, left, with his wife, Sarah. Sarah's debit card was used for almost $180,000 online |
Hernandez and his wife are not named in the complaint but a source confirmed their identities.
The crime was noticed by the card issuer, Morgan Stanley, which began to investigate when it noticed the delivery address on the transactions did not match with the billing address.
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Morgan Stanley reimbursed Hernandez when the fraud was discovered and U.S. Secret Service, which oversees federal cybercrime, filed the charges in Tacoma, Washington.
Hernandez allegedly told investigators she and Peguero shopped together online during that time and that Hernandez asked Peguero for help ‘due to [Hernandez’s] limited understanding of the English language’.
Hernandez allegedly told investigators that Peguero had access to her credit cards during that time, according to the Seattle Times.
Peguero’s email address was traced to her Twitter account in which agents found photographs of her wearing some of the items they believe were purchased illegally from Saks.
In one picture, Peguero is sitting next to a Gucci handbag identical to one purchased from Saks through the Hernandez account for $1,750.
Peguero is the youngest daughter of late MLB reliever Pedro Borbon.
Carlos Peguero, who has played in 65 games for the Mariners since 2011, denied knowledge of his wife's activity.
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