LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 14: Andrew Friedman speaks while Mark Walter and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers look on during the Shohei Ohtani Los Angeles Dodgers Press Conference at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, December 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Los Angeles Dodgers have become one of baseball’s most powerful franchises under owner Mark Walter, but the billionaire’s sprawling business empire is now facing significant federal scrutiny.
And that investigation might have taken on some new relevance for Dodgers fans after financial filings revealed that a company tied to the team was among the investments caught up in a major reclassification.
Los Angeles Dodgers Owner Becomes Subject Of Federal Investigation
Federal investigators had been examining Walter’s financial businesses before a high-profile sale of the Los Angeles Lakers heightened scrutiny around his sports holdings.
“Federal agents seized the mobile phone and computer of Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter last September in a wide-ranging probe into the financial dealings of the billionaire’s businesses,” Zachary R. Mider, Ava Benny-Morrison and Myles Miller reported for Bloomberg Law. “Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have been investigating potential financial improprieties at two of Walter’s insurance companies and at Guggenheim Partners, the financial firm Walter leads.”
The investigation does not mean the Dodgers or Walter have been accused of any wrongdoing, and no charges against Walter have been announced. But Delaware Life, the insurance company that Walter controls, has acknowledged some errors in how it presented its business investments.
“Delaware Life said investigators are examining whether investments tied to affiliated businesses had been improperly reported as unaffiliated,” Alex Andrejev, Melody Gutierrez and Rebecca Tauber reported for The Athletic. “In all, the filings show Delaware Life revised its disclosures to identify nearly $17 billion more in investments tied to related businesses, increasing its share of the company’s portfolio from about 3 percent to 42 percent.”
Los Angeles Dodgers Ticketing Subsidiary Linked To Billionaire Owner’s Shuffle
And after disclosing the $17 billion in related investments, it appears the Dodgers are more directly involved in Walter’s other holdings than fans might have known.
“One of the investments that appears to be caught up in the reclassified dealings was a $4.1 million loan to Dodger Tickets LLC, a subsidiary tied to the Dodgers and involved with ticketing and other business operations,” The Athletic reported. “Delaware Life listed that loan as unaffiliated in its 2025 annual statement. In the March filing, the same investment was listed as affiliated.”
Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten was also listed as the CEO of Dodgers Tickets LLC in a California business filing, according to the report.
The disclosure could be significant as it illustrates the type of affiliated-business relationship investigators and regulators are reportedly examining across Walter’s financial empire. And if the investigation increases pressure for Walter to divest some of his other sports holdings after the Lakers sale, it’s possible the Dodgers could undergo some significant changes at the top.
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