Richard and Michelle Butler
Introduction
Richard Butler, 53, and Michelle Butler, 52, are a married couple from Frankford, Ontario. Richard spent parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball as an outfielder with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays between 1997 and 1999, appearing in 86 games and batting .223 with seven home runs and 22 RBIs. On October 20, 2026, Durham Regional Police announced that each of the Butlers is charged with one count of fraud over $5,000, one count of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, and one count of uttering a forged document, in connection with an alleged $60,000 fraud involving their youth baseball training operation, the Ontario Devil Rays. The allegations against the accused have not been tested in court, and both are presumed innocent.
Background Information
Richard Butler is an Ontario native and Toronto-born ballplayer who broke into the majors with seven games for his hometown Blue Jays in September 1997 after seven years in the minors, then was selected 10th overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1997 MLB expansion draft and played 79 more games with the club across parts of two seasons. His brother, Rob Butler, played four big-league seasons and was a member of Toronto’s 1993 World Series championship team. The Butler program at the center of the case, Ontario Devil Rays Inc., was a Bowmanville-based baseball club and travel program for players ages 10 to 18. The couple lives in Frankford, about two hours east of Toronto.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged, not convicted. Richard and Michelle Butler each face one count of fraud over $5,000, one count of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, and one count of uttering a forged document. The charges were announced by Durham Regional Police on October 20, 2026; the allegations have not been tested in court, and both are presumed innocent.
According to the police account, families enrolled their children in the Ontario Devil Rays’ 2025-26 baseball program — Richard Butler’s baseball training company — and paid registration fees to accounts associated with Ontario Devil Rays Inc. Investigators determined that between April 1 and October 31, 2025, approximately $60,000 was deposited into a bank account associated with the organization. Police allege those funds were subsequently transferred to other accounts associated with the suspects, were not used for the training program, and that the services initially agreed upon were never provided.
The collapse of the program was itself part of the allegations. On October 19, 2025, families were advised by email that the business was being dissolved due to financial hardship and was claiming bankruptcy. Investigators say they later determined no bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings were ever initiated, and that the lawyer named in that email was allegedly identified without his knowledge or permission — the basis for the forged-document charge. Durham Regional Police say they believe there may be additional victims and have asked anyone with information to contact the Financial Crimes Unit.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The charges were announced Tuesday and picked up by Toronto media within hours: CP24, the Toronto Sun, CityNews and TSN each detailed the money trail from the youth program’s account to accounts associated with the couple, and the New York Post carried the story to a US audience under the headline “Former MLB player, wife charged in $60K youth baseball fraud.” The police service released a labeled graphic with booking photographs of both Butlers alongside its news release, an unusual step for a financial-crimes announcement in the region. The fact that the alleged scheme’s victims were youth-baseball families — registration money for children’s training — framed the coverage; CP24 noted the Ontario Devil Rays was a travel program for players ages 10 to 18. No public statement from either Butler appears in the coverage announcing the charges.
Current Status
Both Butlers are charged and the investigation is ongoing. Durham Regional Police’s Financial Crimes Unit is asking anyone with information or who believes they may have been a victim to contact Det. Const. Peden, or to leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers. The allegations have not been tested in court, no trial date has been reported, and neither Butler has publicly entered a plea. What is already a matter of the police record is the alleged paper trail: roughly $60,000 in youth-program fees deposited over seven months, and a closure email whose claimed bankruptcy never existed.
Impact on Their Career/Life
For Richard Butler, the charges attach to a name that had spent two decades quietly attached to baseball development in Ontario rather than to any scandal — his playing career ended in 1999, and his public profile since rested on the family baseball lineage he shared with his World Series-winning brother. The couple now each carry three criminal charges arising from the program they ran together, with police saying the victim list may not be complete. The organization at the center of it, the Ontario Devil Rays, told families in October 2025 it was shutting down; the police account of why — and of where the money went — is now the program’s lasting record.
Sources
- Durham Regional Police Service, “Professional Baseball Player and Spouse Charged in Fraud Investigation,” October 20, 2026 — source
- New York Post, “Former MLB player Rich Butler, wife charged in $60K youth baseball fraud,” October 20, 2026 — source
- CP24, “Richard Butler, ex-Blue Jay, charged in Durham fraud probe,” October 20, 2026 — source
- Toronto Sun, “Former Blue Jays player Rich Butler, wife charged in fraud probe,” October 20, 2026 — source