Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz indicted in gambling-scheme bombshell
Two Major League Baseball pitchers have been indicted over a scheme in which they allegedly shared inside information about their pitches with sports bettors, who then used that information to win hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, Cleveland Guardians pitchers who had been placed on leave in July, were charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn. Ortiz was arrested Sunday in Boston and is expected to appear in court Monday, while Clase was not in custody as of Sunday afternoon.
If convicted of all charges, each pitcher would face up to 65 years in jail.
In a statement, Ortiz’s attorney, Chris Georgalis, said he is innocent, that Ortiz “has never, and would never, improperly influence a game—not for anyone and not for anything,” and that transfers of money between Ortiz and people in the Dominican Republic “were for lawful activities.” An attorney for Clase could not be reached.
According to prosecutors at the Eastern District of New York — the same U.S. Attorney’s Office that leveled similar charges toward NBA coaches and player Terry Rozier last month — the alleged activity began as early as May 2023.
The 23-page, unsealed indictment includes an example from May 19, 2023, when Clase pitched in Queens against the Mets. “After receiving advance information from [Clase],” co-conspirator bettors allegedly won approximately $27,000 during the game by wagering that a specific pitch he threw would be faster than 94.95 mph.
Such prop bets — which also allegedly included Clase throwing balls (rather than strikes), often on the first pitches of plate appearances — brought Clase’s co-conspirator bettors at least $400,000 from 2023-25, according to the indictment. In return, Clase allegedly received “bribe and kickback payments,” the prosecutors say, as well as providing money to the bettors “to fund the scheme.”
Ortiz, a starting pitcher who became a teammate of Clase’s last season, allegedly joined the plot “in or around June 2025.” According to the indictment, Ortiz received about $5,000 for intentionally throwing a ball with his first pitch of the second inning during a June 15 game in Seattle. Clase allegedly received about $5,000 for arranging the plan.
Those sums elevated to $7,000 apiece for Ortiz to allegedly throw a ball with his first pitch of the third inning on June 27. Prior to the game, Clase allegedly withdrew $50,000 in cash and gave $15,000 to a bettor to wager on the pitch.
According to the indictment, bettors won at least $60,000 in June from gambling on pitches whose results Ortiz had predetermined.
“[T]he defendants deprived the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball of their honest services,” Joseph Nocella Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “They defrauded the online betting platforms where the bets were placed. And they betrayed America’s pastime.”
Clase, 27, and Ortiz, 26, have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since the summer as the league investigated. Betting-integrity firms had flagged unusual gambling activities on pitches thrown by Ortiz.
“MLB contacted federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and has fully cooperated throughout the process,” MLB said in a statement. “We are aware of the indictment and today’s arrest, and our investigation is ongoing.”
Rules against gambling are posted, in English and Spanish, in every major league clubhouse. Yet the explosion of legalized gambling, often embraced by sports leagues that want a cut of the action, have made the enticement greater than ever.
The indictment comes less than a month after Rozier, Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former Cavaliers player and coach Damon Jones were charged in wide-ranging schemes that allegedly involved illegal sports betting and rigged poker games.
No comments:
Post a Comment