Lenny Dykstra takes plea deal on bankruptcy fraud charges

Former New York Mets star and self-styled financial guru Lenny Dykstra, already sentenced to three years in state prison for a car scam, has agreed to a plea deal on federal bankruptcy fraud charges after allegedly looting his mansion of valuables as he struggled to battle numerous creditors.

Dykstra, who helped the New York Mets win the 1986 World Series and later became a celebrity stock picker before his finances dissolved in chaos in 2009, has racked up a score of charges in recent years.

His fall from grace during the last two years has resulted in conviction for a car finance scam and separate charges of lewd conduct and assault with a deadly weapon.

On Tuesday, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles entered under seal a plea agreement with Dykstra in connection with his embezzlement from the bankruptcy estate case.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said the filing is under seal and the office cannot discuss the contents until it is unsealed.

Christopher Dybwad, a federal public defender representing Dykstra, did not return a call to his office and a staffer said he was unlikely to comment.

According to federal prosecutors, Dykstra sold sports memorabilia and items from his Ventura County mansion, including a $50,000 sink, that were frozen as part of the bankruptcy case. Typically, a person in bankruptcy can’t touch assets that are part of the case so that they are available to repay creditors.

Nicknamed “Nails” by baseball fans for his raucous style on the diamond, the Garden Grove native turned to bankruptcy court in July 2009 to try to save his lavishly furnished Sherwood Country Club estate, which he bought from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky for $18.5 million at the height of the last housing boom.

Despite those efforts and a protracted and ongoing court battle with court officials and numerous creditors, the home was sold in 2010 to the private equity firm Index Investors, one of Dykstra’s creditors.

An affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Ty Thomas lays out how federal investigators allege the baseball legend “sold many items belonging to the bankruptcy estate” and “destroyed and hid other estate items, depriving the estate of a combined $400,000 of assets.”

Dykstra allegedly had dozens of items, including chandeliers, mirrors, artwork, a stove and a grandfather clock delivered to a consignment store, Uniques, on South Barrington Avenue in West Los Angeles. The owner of the store paid him cash for a U-Haul truckload of goods, according to the agent.

The baseball legend was earlier sentenced to three years in prison after he pleaded no contest to grand theft auto and filing a false financial statement in connection with a scheme a judge described as an effort to steal cars that showed “sophistication, planning.”

richard.winton@latimes.com