Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was once again the center of attention after publicly accusing a hotel of stealing one million Dominican pesos from him. However, hours later, his own lawyer confirmed that there was no robbery and it was all a misunderstanding.
The incident was reported at the Hotel Hispaniola Beach, located in Sosua, Puerto Plata, where the baseball player was training. In a video posted on his official Instagram account, Franco said he had left two million pesos in his room, but when he returned he found only half. The accusation went viral quickly reaching more than 50,000 views in less than 12 hours.
Wander Franco accuses robbery and then retracts: the money was in his room
During the broadcast, the player demanded justice and even asked for the support of his followers and the National Police: “Let’s attack the owner of Hispaniola Beach in Sosua… They steal a million pesos from me. They were harassing me for days,” Franco said, while assuring that it was an unacceptable situation.
However, the following day, his lawyer Teodicio Jaquez publicly denied the complaint: “The money was recovered in the same hotel room. It was just a misunderstanding,” he explained. Jaquez also offered a formal apology to the hotel management, who pointed out that they had not received any report or visits from the authorities until the time of the video.
Wander Franco’s reputation continues to deteriorate after legal scandals
This episode occurs while Wander Franco is suspended from Major League Baseball and is facing a two-year suspended prison sentence after being found guilty in June 2025 of sexual abuse against a minor in Puerto Plata. This adds to other previous charges of sexual exploitation in 2023, which has severely weakened his public image.
In addition, this is not the first time the player has reported a robbery. In 2022, he was the victim of a million-dollar theft in the United States, when a man broke into his luxury vehicle and stole more than $650,000 in jewelry. Although in that case the report was real, the recent incident in the Dominican Republic has generated doubts about his credibility.
Read the full article here