Tennessee
Man with same name as Babe Ruth charged with using old baseball players’ names for settlement fraud
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man with the same name as New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth is facing charges alleging that he used the names of hundreds of dead or retired pro baseball players to make phony claims for payouts in class action settlements.
George Herman Ruth is charged with 91 counts in the indictment handed down in U.S. District Court in Greeneville, Tennessee, on Aug. 12, the U.S. attorney’s office announced late last week. The 69-year-old from Morristown is charged with mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, money laundering, making false statements to his probation officer and possessing firearms after having previously been convicted of felonies.
The indictment says Ruth obtained or attempted to obtain more than $550,000 through the scheme. He sought payouts in lawsuit settlements ranging from contact lens pricing allegations to claims of racial discrimination against a staffing agency, the indictment adds.
Ruth opened more than a dozen P.O. boxes in several Tennessee cities for himself and for sham companies, then submitted hundreds of fraudulent claim forms to class action administrators across the country, according to the indictment. He used the old baseball players’ names or variations of his own name and the Social Security numbers of unwitting victims, prosecutors said.
The indictment doesn’t list the names of the players Ruth claimed to be, but it does describe some of them. For instance, some played for defunct teams such as the Philadelphia Athletics, the St. Louis Browns and the Kansas City Packers.
A public defender representing Ruth declined to comment on the charges.
Ruth had previously pleaded guilty in an Indiana federal court to a scheme to commit Social Security fraud. In 2020, he was sentenced to prison before going on probation from October 2023 until July 2025, court records show.
Utah
Prosecutors to seek death penalty for man accused of killing 2 police officers
TREMONTON, Utah (AP) — Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for a man accused of fatally shooting two police officers in northern Utah last weekend, according to new court documents.
Ryan Michael Bate faces 20 charges, including two counts of capital murder, for the deaths of Sgt. Lee Sorensen and Officer Eric Estrada. The Box Elder County Attorney’s Office filed a notice to the court late Wednesday that they plan to seek the death penalty for Bate.
Police say Bate, 30, killed the officers from the Tremonton-Garland Police Department with a high-powered rifle while they were responding to a domestic disturbance call at his home. Bate’s wife had called 911 and hung up multiple times to get help after Bate “slammed her head with a door, and grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the wall,” according to charging documents.
She later told police he had repeatedly threatened to kill her.
Box Elder County sheriff’s deputy Mike Allred and his police K-9 Azula, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, arrived at the scene as backup and were injured in the shooting. Bystanders persuaded Bate to drop the gun and he was taken into custody.
Bate was arrested last year on aggravated assault and domestic violence charges that were later dismissed, according to court records. He was charged late Wednesday with several counts of assault and domestic violence, in addition to the murder and attempted murder charges.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters on Thursday that he thinks it is appropriate for prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case.
An attorney was not listed for Bate in court documents Thursday.
Rhode Island
Prosecutor put on unpaid leave after warning ‘You’re gonna regret this’ during arrest
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island state prosecutor was put on unpaid leave for six months after she was captured on police body camera footage warning one of the officers who were arresting her on a trespassing charge that he was “gonna regret it.”
Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan was given the punishment Monday. It stemmed from her Aug. 14 trespassing arrest outside of a restaurant in Newport, the state attorney general, Peter Neronha, said Tuesday.
“We hold our attorneys to the highest personal and professional standards, and Ms. Flanagan plainly did not meet those standards here,” Neronha said in a news release.
Neronha met with the officers involved in Flanagan’s arrest on Monday and apologized, said Tim Rondeau, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office. Flanagan also sent apology letters to the individual officers, he said.
Flanagan and a friend were arrested after they were asked to leave the Clarke Cook House and refused, according to police.
The police footage shows Flanagan asking an officer multiple times to turn off his body camera and then repeatedly saying “I’m an AG.”
It shows the officers approaching someone from the restaurant and asking if “they want them trespassed.” The person clasps his hands and responds saying, “Trespass, yeah. Cuff ‘em, please.”
When the officer says Flanagan and people who were with her are trespassing, she says “We’re not trespassing, you haven’t notified us that we’re trespassing.”
“What did I just say to you? You’re trespassing,” says the officer, who is not identified in the video.
“I’m an AG. I’m an AG,” Flanagan later says.
“Good for you,” the officer says.
Eventually, Flanagan is put in a patrol vehicle and says, “Buddy, you’re gonna regret this. You’re gonna regret it.”
In Rhode Island, a conviction for misdemeanor willful trespass is punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. It’s unclear whether, if convicted, Flanagan would still be able to work in the attorney general’s office.
In his statement announcing Flanagan was placed on leave, Neronha said he hopes she reflects “on the seriousness of her conduct and makes corrective changes in her life.”
“She has a long road ahead of her, but I believe that in the long run, our worst moments can inspire us to become better people,” he said.
According to the attorney general’s office, Flanagan has worked for the state’s top legal office for nearly seven years and was assigned to the criminal division’s appellate unit at the time of her arrest.
Washington
Lawyers: Inquiry into prosecutor Jack Smith based on ‘imaginary premise’
WASHINGTON (AP) — A watchdog investigation into former special counsel Jack Smith over his prosecutions of President Donald Trump is based on an “imaginary and unfounded” premise, Smith’s lawyers wrote in a letter obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The letter marks the first response by Smith and his legal team to news that the Office of Special Counsel, an independent watchdog office, had launched an investigation into whether Smith engaged in improper political activity through his criminal inquiries into Trump.
The attorneys told Jamieson Greer, the acting head of the office, that his investigation into Smith was “wholly without merit.”
“Mr. Smith’s actions as Special Counsel were consistent with the decisions of a prosecutor who has devoted his career to following the facts and the law, without fear or favor and without regard for the political consequences, not because of them,” wrote Smith’s lawyers, Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski.
The Office of Special Counsel, which is totally distinct from the Justice Department special counsel position that Smith held for more than two years starting in November 2022, confirmed the investigation following a request from Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who asked it to examine Smith’s activities for potential violations of the Hatch Act, a federal law that bans certain public officials from engaging in political activity.
Cotton had alleged that Smith sought to interfere in the 2024 presidential election through his prosecutions and sought to effectively fast-track the cases toward resolution, including by asking the Supreme Court to weigh in on a key legal question before a lower court had a chance to review the issue.
But Smith’s lawyers say that argument is contradicted by the facts and note that no court ruling or other authority prohibits prosecutors from investigating allegations of criminal conducts against candidates for office. Politics, they say, played no part in the decision to bring the cases.
“A review of the record and procedural history demonstrates the opposite — Mr. Smith was fiercely committed to making prosecutorial decisions based solely on the evidence, he steadfastly followed applicable Department of Justice guidelines and the Principles of Federal Prosecution, and he did not let the pending election influence his investigative or prosecutorial decision-making,” Smith’s lawyers wrote.
“The predicate for this investigation,” they added, “is imaginary and unfounded.”
Smith, who was appointed special counsel under the Biden administration, brought two cases against Trump, one accusing him of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the other of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Both were brought in 2023, well over a year before the 2024 presidential election, and indictments in the two cases cited what Smith and his team described as clear violations of well-established federal law.
Both cases were abandoned by Smith after Trump’s November win, with the prosecutor citing longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting the indictment of a sitting president.
Oregon
Zoo owner indicted on more than 300 animal neglect charges
BANDON, Oregon (AP) — The owner of an Oregon zoo has been indicted on more than 300 counts of animal neglect and other charges after police said they found drugs and guns at the facility.
Brian Tenney, the owner of West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon, was arraigned on Monday. Tenney’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a phone number associated with the zoo did not have voicemail set up. Tenney has not yet had the opportunity to enter a plea.
Oregon State Police announced earlier this year that authorities served several search warrants at the zoo near the southern Oregon coast in May, following an investigation that included inquiries into the animals’ welfare. Police said they found methamphetamine, dozens of firearms, cocaine and large amounts of cash.
More than 300 animals were relocated to animal sanctuaries or rescue facilities, and a camel, chicken and kinkajou were euthanized after being evaluated by veterinarians.
A grand jury indicted Tenney on 371 charges — including 327 felonies — on Aug. 19, according to state court records.
Man with same name as Babe Ruth charged with using old baseball players’ names for settlement fraud
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man with the same name as New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth is facing charges alleging that he used the names of hundreds of dead or retired pro baseball players to make phony claims for payouts in class action settlements.
George Herman Ruth is charged with 91 counts in the indictment handed down in U.S. District Court in Greeneville, Tennessee, on Aug. 12, the U.S. attorney’s office announced late last week. The 69-year-old from Morristown is charged with mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, money laundering, making false statements to his probation officer and possessing firearms after having previously been convicted of felonies.
The indictment says Ruth obtained or attempted to obtain more than $550,000 through the scheme. He sought payouts in lawsuit settlements ranging from contact lens pricing allegations to claims of racial discrimination against a staffing agency, the indictment adds.
Ruth opened more than a dozen P.O. boxes in several Tennessee cities for himself and for sham companies, then submitted hundreds of fraudulent claim forms to class action administrators across the country, according to the indictment. He used the old baseball players’ names or variations of his own name and the Social Security numbers of unwitting victims, prosecutors said.
The indictment doesn’t list the names of the players Ruth claimed to be, but it does describe some of them. For instance, some played for defunct teams such as the Philadelphia Athletics, the St. Louis Browns and the Kansas City Packers.
A public defender representing Ruth declined to comment on the charges.
Ruth had previously pleaded guilty in an Indiana federal court to a scheme to commit Social Security fraud. In 2020, he was sentenced to prison before going on probation from October 2023 until July 2025, court records show.
Utah
Prosecutors to seek death penalty for man accused of killing 2 police officers
TREMONTON, Utah (AP) — Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for a man accused of fatally shooting two police officers in northern Utah last weekend, according to new court documents.
Ryan Michael Bate faces 20 charges, including two counts of capital murder, for the deaths of Sgt. Lee Sorensen and Officer Eric Estrada. The Box Elder County Attorney’s Office filed a notice to the court late Wednesday that they plan to seek the death penalty for Bate.
Police say Bate, 30, killed the officers from the Tremonton-Garland Police Department with a high-powered rifle while they were responding to a domestic disturbance call at his home. Bate’s wife had called 911 and hung up multiple times to get help after Bate “slammed her head with a door, and grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the wall,” according to charging documents.
She later told police he had repeatedly threatened to kill her.
Box Elder County sheriff’s deputy Mike Allred and his police K-9 Azula, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, arrived at the scene as backup and were injured in the shooting. Bystanders persuaded Bate to drop the gun and he was taken into custody.
Bate was arrested last year on aggravated assault and domestic violence charges that were later dismissed, according to court records. He was charged late Wednesday with several counts of assault and domestic violence, in addition to the murder and attempted murder charges.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters on Thursday that he thinks it is appropriate for prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case.
An attorney was not listed for Bate in court documents Thursday.
Rhode Island
Prosecutor put on unpaid leave after warning ‘You’re gonna regret this’ during arrest
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island state prosecutor was put on unpaid leave for six months after she was captured on police body camera footage warning one of the officers who were arresting her on a trespassing charge that he was “gonna regret it.”
Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan was given the punishment Monday. It stemmed from her Aug. 14 trespassing arrest outside of a restaurant in Newport, the state attorney general, Peter Neronha, said Tuesday.
“We hold our attorneys to the highest personal and professional standards, and Ms. Flanagan plainly did not meet those standards here,” Neronha said in a news release.
Neronha met with the officers involved in Flanagan’s arrest on Monday and apologized, said Tim Rondeau, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office. Flanagan also sent apology letters to the individual officers, he said.
Flanagan and a friend were arrested after they were asked to leave the Clarke Cook House and refused, according to police.
The police footage shows Flanagan asking an officer multiple times to turn off his body camera and then repeatedly saying “I’m an AG.”
It shows the officers approaching someone from the restaurant and asking if “they want them trespassed.” The person clasps his hands and responds saying, “Trespass, yeah. Cuff ‘em, please.”
When the officer says Flanagan and people who were with her are trespassing, she says “We’re not trespassing, you haven’t notified us that we’re trespassing.”
“What did I just say to you? You’re trespassing,” says the officer, who is not identified in the video.
“I’m an AG. I’m an AG,” Flanagan later says.
“Good for you,” the officer says.
Eventually, Flanagan is put in a patrol vehicle and says, “Buddy, you’re gonna regret this. You’re gonna regret it.”
In Rhode Island, a conviction for misdemeanor willful trespass is punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. It’s unclear whether, if convicted, Flanagan would still be able to work in the attorney general’s office.
In his statement announcing Flanagan was placed on leave, Neronha said he hopes she reflects “on the seriousness of her conduct and makes corrective changes in her life.”
“She has a long road ahead of her, but I believe that in the long run, our worst moments can inspire us to become better people,” he said.
According to the attorney general’s office, Flanagan has worked for the state’s top legal office for nearly seven years and was assigned to the criminal division’s appellate unit at the time of her arrest.
Washington
Lawyers: Inquiry into prosecutor Jack Smith based on ‘imaginary premise’
WASHINGTON (AP) — A watchdog investigation into former special counsel Jack Smith over his prosecutions of President Donald Trump is based on an “imaginary and unfounded” premise, Smith’s lawyers wrote in a letter obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The letter marks the first response by Smith and his legal team to news that the Office of Special Counsel, an independent watchdog office, had launched an investigation into whether Smith engaged in improper political activity through his criminal inquiries into Trump.
The attorneys told Jamieson Greer, the acting head of the office, that his investigation into Smith was “wholly without merit.”
“Mr. Smith’s actions as Special Counsel were consistent with the decisions of a prosecutor who has devoted his career to following the facts and the law, without fear or favor and without regard for the political consequences, not because of them,” wrote Smith’s lawyers, Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski.
The Office of Special Counsel, which is totally distinct from the Justice Department special counsel position that Smith held for more than two years starting in November 2022, confirmed the investigation following a request from Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who asked it to examine Smith’s activities for potential violations of the Hatch Act, a federal law that bans certain public officials from engaging in political activity.
Cotton had alleged that Smith sought to interfere in the 2024 presidential election through his prosecutions and sought to effectively fast-track the cases toward resolution, including by asking the Supreme Court to weigh in on a key legal question before a lower court had a chance to review the issue.
But Smith’s lawyers say that argument is contradicted by the facts and note that no court ruling or other authority prohibits prosecutors from investigating allegations of criminal conducts against candidates for office. Politics, they say, played no part in the decision to bring the cases.
“A review of the record and procedural history demonstrates the opposite — Mr. Smith was fiercely committed to making prosecutorial decisions based solely on the evidence, he steadfastly followed applicable Department of Justice guidelines and the Principles of Federal Prosecution, and he did not let the pending election influence his investigative or prosecutorial decision-making,” Smith’s lawyers wrote.
“The predicate for this investigation,” they added, “is imaginary and unfounded.”
Smith, who was appointed special counsel under the Biden administration, brought two cases against Trump, one accusing him of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the other of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Both were brought in 2023, well over a year before the 2024 presidential election, and indictments in the two cases cited what Smith and his team described as clear violations of well-established federal law.
Both cases were abandoned by Smith after Trump’s November win, with the prosecutor citing longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting the indictment of a sitting president.
Oregon
Zoo owner indicted on more than 300 animal neglect charges
BANDON, Oregon (AP) — The owner of an Oregon zoo has been indicted on more than 300 counts of animal neglect and other charges after police said they found drugs and guns at the facility.
Brian Tenney, the owner of West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon, was arraigned on Monday. Tenney’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a phone number associated with the zoo did not have voicemail set up. Tenney has not yet had the opportunity to enter a plea.
Oregon State Police announced earlier this year that authorities served several search warrants at the zoo near the southern Oregon coast in May, following an investigation that included inquiries into the animals’ welfare. Police said they found methamphetamine, dozens of firearms, cocaine and large amounts of cash.
More than 300 animals were relocated to animal sanctuaries or rescue facilities, and a camel, chicken and kinkajou were euthanized after being evaluated by veterinarians.
A grand jury indicted Tenney on 371 charges — including 327 felonies — on Aug. 19, according to state court records.
