TWG Global, the holding company of Dodgers owner Mark Walter, has issued a strong denial of fraud allegations and refuted rumors that the Los Angeles Dodgers are for sale. The statement comes amid an ongoing federal investigation into several insurance companies within Walter's business portfolio and following reports of his recent sale of the NBA's Lakers.
"Over the past several weeks, multipronged attacks against TWG have been advanced by unnamed sources with self-serving interests that have been reported in the media," TWG Global stated Wednesday. "It is important to set the record straight. TWG stands firmly behind the integrity of its business and remains focused on continuing to deliver value to its stakeholders."
The company explicitly stated, "Despite what has been reported, there has been no fraud." TWG Global also addressed reports suggesting Walter was seeking to sell sports assets to raise capital for his insurance operations, asserting that "TWG is not looking to sell its sports assets at 'fire sale' prices."
Regarding the Dodgers, TWG Global was unequivocal: "To be clear, the team is not being sold and no sale process has been initiated." The company also cited the 25% appreciation of the Lakers franchise since Walter's $10 billion purchase last year as evidence that its sale was "hardly a 'fire sale.'"
The federal investigation, reportedly triggered by a whistleblower complaint, is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The probe is focused on loans from insurance companies within Walter's portfolio to other Walter-owned businesses and whether these "affiliated" transactions were properly disclosed to investors.
Reports indicated that Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co. received grand jury subpoenas. Additionally, FBI agents reportedly seized Walter's cell phone and computer aboard his private plane in Chicago as part of a search warrant execution.
TWG Global stated that it is cooperating with investigators and is "committed to working with" them to "resolve their inquiries." The company has submitted a plan to regulators for an "orderly, measured manner" to reduce affiliate exposure on the insurance companies' books, which includes a proposal for TWG to purchase the questioned "affiliated assets" from the insurers.
The company also addressed historical questions about the 2012 acquisition of the Dodgers, stating, "The allegation that the Los Angeles Dodgers were acquired or have been funded improperly is false and not supported by the facts." TWG noted that the acquisition underwent scrutiny from Major League Baseball and a full investigation by an outside law firm on behalf of state insurance regulators, which found no irregularities.
TWG Global asserted that "affiliated transactions are common across the insurance industry, and suggestions that TWG is ‘looting’ insurers is defamatory and false." The company concluded, "There is no victim here. No one has been harmed, and no one has claimed they were harmed."