Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Klaas and Luis Ortiz have been charged by Brooklyn prosecutors with sports betting, ESPN’s Jeff Passan and others report. Ortiz was arrested earlier today. Klass is not in custody.
Claes and Ortiz were charged with “Wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting events by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy for allegedly participating in a scheme to rig betting on stadiums ThrowThe Justice Department reports, as reported by Zack Meisel of The Athletic. The indictment details an alleged scheme that involved pitchers intentionally throwing pitches so that gamblers could bet on whether the pitch would be a ball or a strike. According to the indictment, this scheme began with Clase as early as May 2023.
Prosecutors’ allegations in the indictment include a specific incident on June 15, when Ortiz was paid $5,000 for intentionally throwing the ball, and Klass was paid $5,000 for assisting the throw.. Prosecutors allege in the indictment that the co-conspirators won at least $400,000 in fraudulent bets related to Clase and at least $60,000 in fraudulent bets related to Ortiz. If convicted on all counts, Claes and Ortiz face up to 65 years in prison.
“Major League Baseball contacted federal law enforcement at the outset of the investigation and has cooperated fully throughout the process. We are aware of the indictments and today’s arrests, and our investigation is ongoing” the league said in a statement to ESPN.
Ortiz is place Enjoy non-disciplinary paid leave in early July, andClose Already following later this month. Pitcher absent Expand In late August, the league continued its gambling investigation “until further notice.”
Photos courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
