Jury finds ex-MLB outfielder Yasiel Puig guilty in federal gambling probe
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Former Major League Baseball player Yasiel Puig was found guilty by a jury in a federal gambling case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
The decision followed a weeks-long hearing that included testimony from MLB officials and Donny Kadokawa, the Hawaii baseball coach who was linked to Puig and the illegal gambling operation.
Puig played for three major league teams and spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hasn’t appeared in an MLB game since 2019. Puig, 35, currently faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
His sentencing is scheduled for May 26.
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Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig reacts after the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks during Game 3 of the 2017 NLDS playoff baseball series at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on October 9, 2017. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports)
Puig’s attorney, Keri Curtis Axel, argued that the government failed to prove essential elements of its case and plans to file post-trial motions.
“We look forward to clearing Yasiel’s name,” Axel said.
Puig initially pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to federal agents investigating an illegal gambling operation.
In an August 2022 plea agreement, he acknowledged losing more than $280,000 over several months in 2019 while betting on tennis, football and basketball games through a third party working in 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. Puig placed at least 900 bets through betting sites controlled by Nix and a man who worked for Nix, authorities said.
In an interview with federal investigators in January 2022, Puig denied knowing the nature of his bets, who he was betting with and the terms of paying off his gambling debts, prosecutors said.
But months later, he changed his mind and changed his plea to not guilty due to “substantial new evidence,” according to a statement from his lawyers in Los Angeles.
“I want to clear my name,” Puig said in a statement. “I should never have agreed to plead guilty to a crime I didn’t commit.”
Yasiel Puig of Venezuela’s Tiburones de La Guaira reacts after leaving the game due to injury in the fourth inning of the game against the Dominican Republic at CreditDepot Park as part of the Series del Caribe 2024 on February 9, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Norte Photo by Luis Gutierrez/Getty Images)
The government argued that he deliberately misled federal investigators. Audio clips of Puig speaking English were played in court, and expert witnesses were brought in to testify about Puig’s cognitive abilities, The New York Times reported.
Puig, who has a third-grade education, had untreated mental health issues and was not accompanied by his own translator or criminal law counsel during his interview with federal investigators during which he allegedly lied, his lawyers said.
Yasiel Puig of Venezuela’s Tiburones de la Guaira reacts during the fifth inning of the game against the Dominican Republic at CreditDepot Park as part of Serie del Caribe 2024 on February 1, 2024 in Miami, Fla. (Luis Gutierrez/Norte Photo/Getty Images)
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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 named 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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