Bauer accuser indicted on fraud charges

The Scottsdale woman who accused former MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual assault has been indicted on fraud charges by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Darcy Adanna Esemonu, 35,was indicted on a count of fraud and a count of theft by extortion, according to court documents.

Prosecutors detailed that between December 2020 and September 2023, Esemonu knowingly benefited from “fraudulent pretenses, representation, promises or natural omissions,” toward Bauer, originally labeled as Esemonu’s partner, and an unknown man named, Marco Bresciani, according to the court documents. The documents stated that between July and September 2023, Esemonu further made threats of extortion against Bresciani in order to obtain “property or services” from the man with an unknown relation to the defendant and Bauer.

In June 2023, Esemonu became the fourth woman to make allegations of sexual assault or misconduct toward Bauer, with Esemonu stating that in later 2020, Bauer threatened Esemonu with a knife, raped and got her pregnant, according to court filings for the original case.

Bauer denied her claims and countersued Esemonu for fraud, extortion and fabricating a pregnancy.

Bauer attempted to summarize the event on his YouTube channel and said, “these women and their lawyers attempted to weaponize anonymous claims in the media against me to take my money.”

Bauer played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Bauer faced a 194-game suspension in 2022 for violating the MLB’s domestic violence policy, the largest in league history. The suspension was followed by the pitcher going unsigned by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023, later playing baseball in Japan and Mexico.