The players claim to have invested more than two million dollars in Baltimore properties that were never properly transferred or did not generate the promised profits
Rents that never arrived and properties with debts
One of the central points of the legal filing is related to the management of the income supposedly generated by the properties. According to the account of the affected parties, during the first months they received periodic statements with information about rents, maintenance costs, insurance, and taxes for each property.
Over time, however, delays and inconsistencies began. The investors claim that some receipts reported rental income that did not correspond to actual deposits in their bank accounts. They also found that amounts intended for property tax payments were deducted but later appeared as outstanding debts in the official records of Baltimore.
The situation reportedly worsened towards the end of 2023 and during 2024, when rent payments began to be interrupted. The claims led to promises of regularization, commitments to transfer the properties, and agreements to acknowledge debts that, according to the complainants, were also not fulfilled.
The promise of obtaining an annual return in dollars through the U.S. real estate market ended in a legal dispute involving several Argentine footballers. A group of eleven investors filed a criminal complaint in La Plata against businessmen linked to the purchase, renovation, and rental of homes in Baltimore, Maryland, for an alleged scam that would have caused millions in losses.
Among the affected are seven footballers and former footballers with a history in various clubs in the country and abroad: Facundo Fraga, Leonardo Jara, Ezequiel Cerutti, Lucas Ariel Rodríguez, Gonzalo Maroni, Alejandro Gastón Mena, and Juan Francisco Brunetta. According to the details included in the filing, the athletes collectively contributed USD 2,125,000 to participate in a business that promised an annual return of between 10% and 11%.
Fraga and Jara invested the most
The operation worked under the model known as "turnkey": interested parties provided the capital, and a business structure was responsible for selecting and purchasing the properties, making necessary renovations, managing them, and finding tenants. Once the homes were ready to be rented, the investors would begin to receive the corresponding income.
According to the complaint, the proposal was promoted through meetings in hotels in La Plata and Puerto Madero, some of which were linked to a well-known real estate network. The business operators organized meetings to present investment opportunities and even trips to the United States for interested parties to view the properties.
However, over time, irregularities began to appear. The complainants claim that several properties were never transferred to the names of the U.S. companies established for the investors, while others remained registered in the names of third parties. They also discovered unfinished homes, properties in uninhabitable conditions, or with tax debts, municipal fines, unpaid services, and violations of building codes.
The investments
Facundo Fraga, a former player and representative of footballers, tops the list of contributions with USD 720,000, which he allegedly provided between February and March 2022 for the acquisition of three homes. Leonardo Jara, with a history at Estudiantes de La Plata, Boca, Vélez, and Lanús, invested USD 520,000 to buy three other properties.
Meanwhile, Ezequiel Cerutti, a forward who wore the jerseys of Estudiantes and San Lorenzo, allegedly allocated USD 320,000 for the purchase of two houses. Lucas Ariel Rodríguez, known as "Tití," contributed USD 180,000 for three properties, while Gonzalo Maroni provided USD 170,000 to participate in a transaction in August 2024.
The list is completed by former player Alejandro Gastón Mena, who allegedly invested USD 110,000, and Juan Francisco Brunetta, current midfielder for Tigres in Mexico, with a contribution of USD 105,000.
Cerutti, Titi Rodríguez, Maroni, Mena and Brunetta were the other players who invested
Joining this group is accountant Emiliano Ezequiel Galletti, brother of former footballer Luciano Galetti, who advised the players and managed part of their investments. He also appears as a complainant for a personal transaction in which he claims to have disbursed USD 79,000.
The other affected parties are investors from La Plata Héctor Remorini, Pablo Tomás, and María Laura Maillo, whose claims for the contributed capital total USD 475,000. Thus, the total amount requested for restitution by the eleven complainants reaches USD 2,679,000, not including other concepts such as withheld rents, taxes, fines, and extraordinary expenses.
Among the described episodes are transactions for homes where the supposed sellers denied having authorized the transactions or received the corresponding money. In other cases, buyers discovered that the properties remained registered in the names of the business structures managing the operation and accumulated debts and violations that hindered their transfer.
The judicial investigation and asset movements
The filing also requests an investigation into the establishment of a family trust called "PLASTIGONES", registered in April 2024, which would have among its assets four properties located in City Bell, La Plata, General Belgrano, and Beccar. The investors seek to determine the origin of the funds used to acquire those properties and establish whether the structure may have been used to hinder potential asset claims from creditors.
The complaint targets four partners of the real estate business operating in La Plata who would have a base in the United States. It also includes the wife of one of them and his nephew, identified as the accountant of the structure. The complainants request an investigation into the role each person played, who knew the real situation of the properties, and who received and withdrew the money contributed by the investors.
The case has been assigned to UFIJ No. 3 of La Plata, whose head is prosecutor Gonzalo Petit Bosnic. The filing was made before the Attorney General Héctor Vogliolo, and the footballers are represented by lawyer Ignacio Fernández Camillo.
The houses to remodel in Baltimore
Among the requested measures are the conduct of an accounting audit on the receipts and the corporate and tax documentation of the companies, the reconstruction of financial movements, the identification of the registered owners of the properties in the United States, and the summoning of witnesses. There is also a request for information from the real estate agency involved and the Provincial Directorate of Legal Entities.
In addition to the USD 2,679,000 claimed for the invested capital, the complainants included other economic damages. Héctor Remorini claims approximately USD 20,569 for rents that would have been collected and not transferred, while Pablo Tomás and María Laura Maillo estimate around USD 33,000 for extraordinary expenses, fines, and taxes that they had to face or that would have been deducted from their statements without their payment being credited.
The filing requests an investigation of the facts under the figures of alleged fraud and organized crime, without ruling out other qualifications that may arise during the process. Now, the Justice must reconstruct the flow of money, determine the destination of the investments, and establish the potential responsibilities of each of those involved.
