Dodgers owner Mark Walter denies reports, says team payroll is supported by revenue: 'There has been no fraud'

But fans who have that view were handed an enormous gift recently when news broke that the team's principal owner, Mark Walter, was under investigation by the federal government.Walter is alleged to have used investment funds to make loans directly to other businesses.

Some of which were also part of Walter's portfolio of businesses.That's not illegal, but there are specific requirements for disclosure and investor exposure for such private-credit deals, and it's again alleged that Walter's organizations did not accurately describe the scale and scope of those loans.The scale of these loans is such that it's believed Walter may be looking to bring in $16 billion to $20 billion in order to fully settle them.ALEX RODRIGUEZ DEFENDS DODGERS' SPENDING SPREE AS LIKELY LOCKOUT GETS CLOSER: 'I THINK IT'S GREAT'FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers chairman and controlling owner Mark Walter watches during game five of the 2021 NLCS against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers defeated the Braves 11-2 on Oct.21, 2021.

(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)The assumption of many in the anti-Dodgers baseball fan community quickly turned to an unsubstantiated belief that the team's high payroll was supported by loan fraud.That their deferred contracts were to allow Walter to skate by without paying for star players.

And that the World Series wins deserved some sort of asterisk, for an inexplicable reason.Well, Walter's company, TWG Global addressed those comments and concerns in a new statement this week, flatly denying the rampant conspiracy theories."Over the past several weeks, multipronged attacks against TWG have been advanced by unnamed sources with self-serving interests that have been reported in the media.It is important to set the record straight," it said.

"TWG stands firmly behind the integrity of its business and remains focused on continuing to deliver value to its stakeholders."More specifically, the statement says that "despite what has been reported, there has been...