Wife of Mariners player facing federal charges

10/19/2013

SEATTLE — The wife of Seattle Mariners outfielder Carlos Peguero is accused of making $180,000 in unauthorized purchases with a debit card belonging to a co-worker of the player.

Federal court documents show that Maria Jacqueline Peguero was charged earlier this month with three counts of wire fraud. An agent with the U.S. Secret Service says in the court filings that Peguero made 60 unauthorized purchases in 2012 from the upscale retailer Saks Fifth Avenue.

Maria Jacqueline Peguero, 22, was arrested in the case but is now free on bond. Her court-appointed attorney did not return a call seeking comment today.

The court documents do not identify the two people who owned the debit card in the case but the filings say one of them is a co-worker of Carlos Peguero. Peguero has been with the Mariners organization for several years, playing some games in the major leagues but spending most of this past year with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma.

One of the debit card owners has a limited understanding of the English language and described to investigators that Maria Jacqueline Peguero had helped her in May 2012 in making online purchases. The same victim told authorities that Peguero had asked whether she reviewed any of her bills, but the victim responded that she did not usually review bills because the finances of the two victims were managed by a third party.

Authorities say Peguero had items shipped to her own apartment in Fife. Representatives from Saks first began scrutinizing the purchases because the billing addresses and shipping addresses did not match, according to court records.

Carlos Peguero is not charged in the case and told authorities that his wife had told him that her brother worked for Saks.

Part of the investigation focused on images that Maria Jacqueline Peguero had posted on her Twitter account. Investigators said the images showed her wearing clothes that matched items purchased online from Saks, including a leather purse that costs $1,750 and a blouse that costs $208.