An Orange County man arrested earlier this week is accused of scamming former New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera, having allegedly tricked him into investing $1 million into a phony development project.

Steven Minard, 57, faces charges of scheme to defraud (above $50,000) and sale of unregistered security, court records show.

Minard was investigated by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and the Department of Homeland Security leading up to his arrest on Wednesday, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The probable cause affidavit states Minard presented himself as the main investor of Orlando World Live, LLC (OWL), a purported multi-million-dollar development project that was framed as something like a theme park or entertainment campus.

Minard is accused of engaging in “misrepresentation, fabricated documents, and deceptive assurances” to obtain the $1 million from Rivera, whom he allegedly told could expect a 30% annual return after putting the money toward OWL.

Instead, investigators said the funds Minard received were diverted to pay OWL’s pre-existing debts, according to the affidavit.

From about August 2021 through September 2023, Minard “repeatedly induced (Rivera) to invest with OWL and made additional false representations and offerings in furtherance of the scheme,” all while no permit applications, initial assessments, or any related paperwork was ever filed with the city of Orlando, the affidavit states.

Rivera entered into an Investment and Confidentiality Agreement with Minard in January 2022, during which he invested the $1 million with an expectation of the 30% return, according to the affidavit.

“Minard represented that the investment was backed by pre-existing agreements and a live entertainment campus in Orlando, Florida,” the affidavit states. “(…) It’s worth noting that Mariano Rivera was also offered (a) wide range of other investments by Minard, including hotel construction, skyscrapers, music and theater events, all somehow related to this multi-billion-dollar OWL project.”

After the transfer, Minard allegedly refused to provide Rivera with critical information about the legal, permitting, and accounting requirements of OWL, instead pressuring him to make even more investments and arguing “that he did not need to disclose this information because the initial investment was minor,” investigators wrote.

Minard eventually agreed to return Rivera’s money with interest — what would have been $1,400,000 — but all Rivera received were fabricated bank statements and falsified wire records that were meant to trick him into thinking the money was on the way, according to the affidavit.

The Florida Office of Financial Regulation then began investigating Minard in September 2023 after it was found that Rivera’s money was wired to an IOLA account in New York and not to any Orlando entity as Minard had allegedly promised, the affidavit states.

Minard was still in the Orange County jail at the time of this writing. His arraignment is scheduled for June 22, records show.