Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz says he's being extorted by hacker
Boston Red Sox icon David Ortiz says he is being extorted by someone who has hacked into one of his old cellphones.
Ortiz, who is known by baseball fans as "Big Papi," shared the message in Spanish through a video he shared on Instagram early Wednesday morning.
According to Ortiz, the hacker obtained details about his personal life through a cellphone that he's had for more than 15 years but has not used recently.
The hacker is trying to extort him by threatening to make those personal details public, Ortiz said.
"I’m not making this video just because of the fear of what could come out. I’m also doing it to give you guys, my people, the heads up not to involve yourselves with this situation because [law enforcement agencies] are already taking action on these actions, which are completely illegal," Ortiz said in the Instagram video.
Ortiz, a Dominican Republic native, also said the same hacker gained access to his bank accounts about six months ago and made fraudulent charges.
The 47-year-old Hall of Famer said the FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Dominican Republic's intelligence department and police are taking action in the case. Ortiz said the person behind the extortion knows authorities are following him closely.
On June 9, 2019, Ortiz was ambushed in the Dominican Republic and shot in the back at nearly point-blank range by a man who had gotten off of a motorcycle. The shooting happened while Ortiz was at a Santo Domingo bar with friends.
"The first five seconds, I thought I was in the middle of a nightmare," Ortiz said in September 2019. "Then, the next few seconds, I realized that it was real."
Ortiz was seriously wounded in the shooting. Doctors in the Dominican Republic removed his gallbladder and part of his intestine in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Big Papi was then flown to Boston on an air ambulance sent by the Red Sox and underwent additional surgeries.
Approximately three months after the shooting, Ortiz made his first public appearance by throwing out the first pitch before a game between the Red Sox and rival New York Yankees at Fenway Park.
Ortiz hired former Boston police Commissioner Ed Davis to assist in the investigation into the shooting. Davis concluded that Ortiz was targeted by a Dominican drug trafficker who was jealous of him.
Davis' findings contradicted a previous theory by law enforcement in the Dominican Republic that the hitman was hired to shoot Ortiz's cousin, Sixto David Fernandez, who was sitting at the same table as Big Papi at the Santo Domingo bar. Dominican authorities said the hitmen confused Fernandez with Ortiz, who is one of the most beloved athletes in his home country.
Ten people were convicted in connection with the shooting of Ortiz, Dominican authorities confirmed in December 2022.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.