Jury finds ex-MLB outfielder Yasiel Puig guilty in federal gambling probe

Former Major League Baseball outfielder Yasiel Puig was found guilty by a jury in a federal gambling case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

The verdict followed a weekslong trial that included testimony from MLB officials and Donny Kadokawa, a Hawaii baseball coach tied to Puig and the illegal gambling operation.

Puig played for three major league teams, spending the bulk of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has not appeared in an MLB game since 2019. Puig, 35, now faces up to 20 years in federal prison. 

His sentencing is scheduled for May 26.

Puig’s attorney, Keri Curtis Axel, argued the government failed to prove key elements of its case and that she plans to raise post-trial motions. 

“We look forward to clearing Yasiel’s name,” Axel said.

Puig initially pleaded guilty to a felony charge of lying to federal agents investigating an illegal gambling operation. 

He acknowledged in an August 2022 plea agreement that he wracked up more than $280,000 in losses over a few months in 2019 while wagering on tennis, football and basketball games through a third party who worked for an illegal gambling operation run by Wayne Nix, a former minor league baseball player.

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Nix pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and subscribing to a false tax return. Authorities said Puig placed at least 900 bets through Nix-controlled betting websites and through a man who worked for Nix.

Prosecutors said that, during a January 2022 interview with federal investigators, Puig denied knowing about the nature of his bets, who he was betting with and the circumstances of paying his gambling debts.

But he changed his tune months later, announcing that he was switching his plea to not guilty because of “significant new evidence,” according to a statement from his attorneys in Los Angeles. 

“I want to clear my name,” Puig said in the statement. “I never should have agreed to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit.”

The government argued he intentionally misled federal investigators. They played in court audio clips of Puig speaking English and brought expert witnesses to testify on Puig’s cognitive abilities, The New York Times reported.

His attorneys said Puig, who has a third-grade education, had untreated mental health issues and did not have his own interpreter or criminal legal counsel with him during the interview with federal investigators when he allegedly lied.

Puig made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2013 and finished his major league career with 132 home runs and 415 RBIs. He was selected to the MLB All-Star team in 2014. Last year, he played for the Kiwoom Heroes, a professional baseball team based in Seoul.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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