On Thursday, the news broke that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria had a "handshake agreement" to sell the team for $1.6 billion. Now ESPN's Darren Rovell reports that, according to sources, Charles Kushner, father-in-law to Ivanka Trump, is part of the group seeking to purchase the club from Loria.
Ivanka Trump is of course the daughter of President Donald Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, is a senior adviser to President Trump.
As Rovell notes, a spokesperson for Kushner declined to comment. MLB released the following statement regarding the Kushner rumors:
Also, Jon Heyman of FanRagSports reports that while the Marlins do apparently have a sale agreement in place, sources say Kushner is not involved.
Charles Kushner, 62, made his fortune in real estate. In 2005, he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of filing false tax returns and campaign finance reports and witness tampering. He eventually spent 14 months in federal prison.
If Rovell's report turns out to be accurate, then this won't be the first time the Kushner family has attempted to purchase an MLB franchise. In 2012, Jared Kushner made a bid to purchase the Dodgers. Eventually, the team was sold to a group publicly fronted by NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
