Ex-Big Leaguer Makes Millions Selling Fake Sneakers
By all accounts, Byron McLaughlin was a nobody.
He went undrafted out of high school, signed with the Expos as a position player, and only played seven games before getting cut.
The Orioles signed Byron and tried to convert him into a pitcher, but after one terrible season, they gave up on him.
He spent a year in independent ball before getting picked up by the Mariners, who were just launching their Major League team in Seattle.
They signed McLaughlin and loaned him to Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican league to develop.
When the Mexican season ended in September, McLaughlin found himself pitching in the big leagues at only 21 years old.
He spent a few years in the league, but his career was nothing to write home about.
Not to mention, McLaughlin was a total jackass off the field.
First, he cut his hand doing dry drills in front of a mirror by standing too close and breaking it.
Then McLaughlin asked for permission to travel back to Mexico for his wedding.
Byron left a gym bag at the hotel for Gary Nicholson, the Mariners’ trainer, to bring back to Seattle, but he forgot to mention one thing.
When Nicholson put the luggage through the X‑ray at LAX, he was stopped by TSA - Inside was a .357 magnum.
The trainer was searched and detained, missing the team flight.
McLaughlin was sent to the Twins - they cut him in Spring Training.
Soon he found himself back in Mexico trying to make ends meet, then he got a final opportunity with the Angels.
After less than a year, his elbow began to hurt, and pretty quickly he was on the IL.
In December of ’83 he was released.
He finished his MLB career with a 16-25 record and a 5.17 ERA.
Photo: Sports Illustrated
Nine months later, he was arrested in Carlsbad, CA for trying to sell 11 ounces of cocaine to an undercover police officer.
He was released on his own recognizance after he agreed to work with police in an operation to identify and arrest his supplier.
Soon enough, the charges were quietly dropped and McLaughlin returned to his former life, untouched.
Some say that his mom, wealthy and connected, bribed a local politician into dropping the charges.
Whether or not this is true, what we do know for sure is that McLaughlin was back in San Diego before long.
Soon after, he started a new venture.
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When he was down in Mexico, it was common for players to work “side jobs” to pick up extra money.
Some ran guns across the border.
Some worked as private security for team owners and their families.
Some got involved in shady import-export deals: trading metals, ceramics, textiles, and even footwear.
Byron quickly got wrapped up in selling fake shoes - finding that he was way better at crime than he had been at baseball.
At his peak, McLaughlin was selling about 80,000 pairs of knockoff sneakers (Vans, Nikes, Adidas, etc) every month.
He was making upwards of $750K/ month before expenses.
According to a federal indictment, the supplier was manufacturing imitation name-brand sneakers in Busan and shipping them to cities on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
McLaughlin would pay between $8 and $11 per pair, then flip them to Mexican distributors for double, insisting that he be paid in U.S. traveler’s checks, which he then stashed in an account with Banque Internationale à Luxembourg.
At the time he was arrested, his overseas bank account held approximately $2.4 million in cash.
Ultimately, McLaughlin was charged with violating seven sections of the U.S. Code including trafficking in counterfeit goods, entry of goods by means of false statements, and smuggling.
Oh, and money laundering.
Plus he was slapped with civil suits from Reebok, Converse and Vans, who collectively sought about $12 million in damages.
McLaughlin pleaded guilty to the money laundering charges, proceeded to post bail, and fled to France before being charged.
French authorities were hesitant to get involved because Byron had not broken any French laws.
By the time any movement started happening on the case, Mclaughlin had already escaped down to Ghana, Africa where his wife had ties.
Since then, the feds haven't been able to catch him, and the government decided the chase was more costly than it was worth.
To this day, Byron McLaughlin remains at large and his whereabouts are unknown.
