Orioles GM Mike Elias Reportedly Facing Allegations of Pension Fraud

Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias is reportedly under investigation for pension fraud.

Bill Madden of the New York Daily News reported Elias is being investigated for allegedly designating pitching instructor Chris Holt as one of four Orioles coaches to be placed on the pension plan despite him not being with the major league club. MLB and the MLB Players Association allow only four coaches from each club to be designated for the pension plan, which gives them medical benefits, life insurance and a licensing check.

The Orioles had eight coaches listed for 2020. The other three coaches designated for the plan are considered "legitimate," but Holt's status has been called into question because he allegedly did not work with the Orioles the entire season.

"All I can tell you, is that to my knowledge we've never had a case like this," Steve Rogers, a special assistant in the players association, told Madden.

Holt has been in the Orioles organization since 2018, when both he and Elias came over from the Houston Astros.

A lawyer who spoke to Madden said that Elias could be in for "significant" discipline if it's found he knowingly violated MLB's pension rules. By adding people to the plan fraudulently, Elias would have been directly taking money away from people who earned the pension and benefits under MLB rules.