There Was a Fake Tombstone in the Dominican Republic and a $2.8 Million Contract in Cleveland

Caption: The New York Mets face the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland on August 6, 2026. Credit: via Wikimedia Commons.

The Ruling

Major League Baseball has suspended the Dominican prospect who signed with the Cleveland Guardians in December 2025 for $2.8 million under the name David Severino, ESPN reported on August 28. His real name is Daury David Severino Damaso. The suspension pushes him out of the 2027 international signing class and into 2028.

What the Investigation Found

The falsified paperwork went several layers deeper than an altered birth date. Investigators found a birth certificate showing December 20, 2011 against a true date of April 2, 2010, along with falsified medical and school records.

They also found a fraudulent death certificate stating that the real David Severino had died on May 5, 2012, and a fake tombstone planted at a gravesite in La Romana in the Dominican Republic.

That last item is the reason this case is different from the age-fraud cases that surface in international signing periods every few years. Building a paper identity is a document problem. Placing a headstone in a cemetery so that anyone who goes looking finds a grave is a different order of effort.

Who Ran It

The scheme was orchestrated by a trainer named Francisco Nieves, according to ESPN’s reporting, allegedly with the approval of the player’s parents. Trainers in the Dominican system control access to prospects from early adolescence and take a percentage of the signing bonus, which is the financial structure that makes a scheme of this size worth attempting.

One trainer, quoted by ESPN, summarized the reaction inside the industry: “I’ve heard about false birth documents and stuff like that, but to put together what this guy did, that’s movie stuff.”

The Guardians Are Not Being Disciplined

Cleveland terminated the agreement in May 2026 and faces no MLB discipline. Clubs are expected to conduct identity verification on international signings, and the absence of a penalty indicates the league did not find the team at fault.

What the Player Loses

He is 16 years old by his true birth date. The $2.8 million is gone, the agreement is void, and he cannot sign with any major league club until the 2028 international class opens. Whatever share of responsibility belongs to a teenager whose trainer and parents are alleged to have built the identity around him, the suspension falls on his eligibility.

References: Sources: MLB suspends prospect over false identity, age plot | MLB suspends Guardians prospect after falsified age and identity discovered, per report | MLB reportedly suspends Dominican prospect, who had $2.8 million agreement with Guardians, over age-fraud plot