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A former Major League Baseball player and his wife have been charged after a fraud investigation into an Ontario youth baseball program, which allegedly took thousands of dollars for training it never provided, Durham police say.<\/p>\n
Between April 1 and Oct. 31 of last year, approximately $60,000 in registration fees for the 2025-2026 Ontario Devil Rays training program was deposited into a bank account associated with the program, police said in a news release Tuesday. But funds were later transferred to other accounts associated with the accused \u2014 Michelle Butler, 52, and former big leaguer Richard Butler, 53, both of Frankford, Ont.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The registration fees were allegedly not used for the program, and the services agreed upon were not provided, police said.<\/p>\n
Families who paid the registration received an email on Oct. 19, 2025, saying the business had been dissolved due to financial hardship and claiming bankruptcy, police said. But investigators later determined the lawyer\u2019s name on the email \u201chad allegedly been used without his knowledge or permission, and no bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings were initiated,\u201d the release said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Rich Butler spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues, including a long stint with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during the team’s first season. (Getty Images, David Seelig\/Allsport)<\/p>\n
Richard and Michelle Butler have now been charged with one count each of fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and uttering a forged document.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Richard played parts of three seasons in the big leagues, including seven games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997 and 79 games for the Tampa Bay Rays between 1998 and 1999, according to the Major League Baseball website. <\/p>\n
His brother, Rob Butler, is also a former Blue Jay and was part of the team’s 1993 World Series championship. He now manages the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Canadian Baseball League, according to the club’s website.<\/p>\n
The Ontario Devil Rays competed in the Fergie Jenkins Showcase League (FJSL), based in Welland, Ont.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The league said in a statement that it was not involved in and had no knowledge of the team\u2019s \u201cdealings with parents or the collection and use of their payments,\u201d as member teams operate independently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police encourage victims to come forward<\/p>\n
The investigation began in early spring last year after parents approached police, Const. Bharat Sharma told CBC News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Richard was the owner of the program, he said. Michelle was directly involved in operations, but Sharma said it’s \u201cuncertain\u201d whether she was also an owner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sharma would not say how many families have been affected by the alleged fraud, but said police are concerned there may be further victims.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of times, people don\u2019t want to come forward, sometimes out of embarrassment, sometimes out of concern of retaliation,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we want to remind the families that you\u2019re not alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n