Yasiel Puig’s $1.5M Sports Betting Loss Revealed in Trial Update
Oct 8, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yaisel Puig (66) celebrates while heading home after a two run single was hit by third baseman David Freese (not pictured) in game four of the 2018 NLDS playoff baseball series at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Yasiel Puig is currently on trial for his involvement in an illegal gambling scheme. The latest update details the amount of money Puig lost placing sports bets.
Earlier this week, a criminal investigator with the Internal Revenue Service testified in Puig’s trial. The investigator stated that Puig lost over $1.5 million in sports bets placed with an illegal Southern California bookmaker in 2019.
Breaking down the Yasiel Puig trial
Puig is currently fighting to avoid a lengthy prison sentence.
Puig is being charged with obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators. If convicted, Puig could face up to 20 years in prison.
In a Los Angeles courthouse, IRS Special Agent Christen Seymour testified to a federal jury and detailed Puig’s transactions in this scheme.
Seymour’s estimate of $1.5 million in losses is based on $500,000 in wire transfers that Puig sent from his checking account to an illegal gambling business run by Wayne Nix, a former minor league pitcher.
Puig placed these bets between May and September 2019, wagering on basketball, tennis, and football. The former slugger allegedly did not bet on baseball.
Nix cut off Puig from the illegal business in September 2019, when the former slugger owed $980,000.
Seymour’s estimate does not include Puig’s two cashier’s checks worth $100,000 that he purchased to settle a debt. This estimate also does not include cash payments that Puig made or received during the gambling process.
Yasiel Puig’s 2022 interview is the key to the case
In January 2022, a federal investigator investigated Puig about his role in illegal sports betting.
During the interview, Puig told investigators that he needed the cashier’s checks to pay for a bet on an unknown website. Puig claimed not to have known the person who instructed him to buy the checks and make them out to a person. Nix happened to owe money to this person.
“He said he lost some online bets and was told by an unknown person to make the checks out to the other gambler’s name,” Seymour said in his testimony. “He made it clear he didn’t know who it was, and he was most certain it was by phone.”
Text messages would prove that Puig was lying. These text messages between Puig and two middlemen show instructions for how the former should address them to Nix’s other client. Investigators found a photo of the address label Puig used to send the checks on Nix’s phone.
After pleading guilty, Puig changed his mind
In November 2022, Puig agreed to plead guilty to one count of making false statements to federal investigators. He also agreed to pay a $55,000 fine.
However, the former Dodgers player changed his mind when it came time to enter the plea before the judge. Puig would have been eligible for parole had he pleaded guilty. Instead, he opted to take the case to trial.
”I want to clear my name,” Puig said after his change of heart. “I never should have agreed to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit.”
“At the time of his January 2022 interview, Mr. 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,” Puig’s attorney, Keri Axel of Waymaker LLP, said. “We have reviewed the evidence, including significant new information, and have serious concerns about the allegations made against Yasiel.”
Wayne Nix’s statement about Puig
In 2022, Nix pleaded guilty to running an illegal sports betting business in California. Puig was one of Nix’s high-profile clients.
In an April 2021 interview, Nix called Puig a “disaster,” saying the MLB player was “not worth the headache.” Nix’s frustration stemmed from the fact that Puig demanded more credit despite not paying for his losses.
Puig had an agreement with that required him to pay $100,000 to Nix when he was down. Conversely, Nix had to pay Puig when his winnings reached $100,000.
Nix is awaiting sentence.
Puig played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2013-2018), Cincinnati Reds (2019), and Cleveland Indians (2019).
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