(CN) - A former patient of the Miami clinic tied to Major League Baseball's steroid scandal claims New York Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez bought confidential patient records in a bid to stymie the investigation into his activities.
Biogenesis of America was a healthcare clinic that purported to specialize in "anti-aging" hormone replacement therapies; however, as was eventually discovered by baseball's front office, it also had a lucrative sideline of providing performance-enhancing drugs to many players, including Rodriguez.
In his complaint, plaintiff Lazaro Collazo says that he was a patient of Biogenesis from 2010 through December 2012.
He claims that toward the end of the this period, in late 2012, a former employee and investor of Biogenesis, stole the company's confidential medical records and information regarding its patients as part of a bid to recover money he was owed by the company.
His plan, Collazo claims, was to sell the documents either to the office of the commissioner of baseball, or to Rodriguez.
In January 2013, the Miami New Times published an article that purported to expose the names of several baseball players, including Alexander Rodriguez, and accused them of consuming performance enhancing substances while they were Biogenesis' patients.
"In anticipation of possible discipline from the MLB, and/or in an effort to limit his exposure to MLB discipline, defendant A-Rod undertook to illegally procure Biogenesis records, including Biogenesis' confidential patient medical records/information," Collazo claims.
He alleges that sometime in either January or February 2013, defendant Jose Gomez, who was Rodriguez's business partner in Newport Property Ventures, purchased from Fisher some of Biogenesis' documents for $4,000.
Collazo claims Gomez then turned the documents directly over to Rodriquez.
According to the complaint, Gomez then lied to DEA investigators who interviewed him on March 28, 2014, telling them Rodriguez had nothing to do with his purchase of the Biogenesis' documents.
In the meantime, the complaint says, Rodriguez shared the Biogenesis medical records, including those of Collazo, with his attorneys.
Collazo also claims that while Fisher was transporting additional Biogenesis' documents from a storage facility in Ocala, Fla. to a meeting with a Florida Department of Health Investigator, the documents were stolen from his car rental.
Major League Baseball ultimately suspended Rodriguez for 211 games due to his suspected use of performance enhancing drugs provided to him by Biogenesis. Rodriguez appealed, sending the case into arbitration.
During those proceedings, Rodriguez allegedly said that he purchased the stolen Biogenesis documents from an acquaintance of Fisher.
Collazo claims Rodriquez paid $200,000 for the documents with a wire transfer through defendant Guidepost Solutions LLC, a private investigator the player had hired.
In exchange for payment, the seller also executed an affidavit allegedly falsely claiming that he tried to sell Rodriguez the documents but that the player refused to buy them, Collazo claims.
The complaint says that during a January 29, 2014, meeting between the Drug Enforcement Administration and attorney, Joseph Tacopina, Rodriguez's team admitted that he had indeed paid $200,000 for "the video recording and Biogenesis notebooks."
"Defendants bought and obtained the Biogenesis documents, including plaintiff Collazo's confidential medical records/information, in an effort to protect defendant A-Rod from MLB discipline that would have resulted in major financial losses to defendant A-Rod, and jeopardized the remainder of his career and earning potential," the complaint says.
Collazo says Rodriguez and his agents obtained the stolen Biogenesis' information without his consent, or without a valid subpoena.
He seeks compensatory damages on claims of common law invasion of privacy, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Collazo is represented by Frank Quinero Jr. of Quinero Broche in Coral Gables, Fla.
Alex Rodriguez's attorney, John Lukacs Sr. of Hinshaw & Culberston, did not respond to a request for comment.
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