Former Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig is facing up to 15 years in prison fo his role in illegal sports betting

The Department of Justice announced today that former Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was found guilty of one count of obstruction of justice and one count of making false statements for his involvement in an illegal sports betting operation.

In May 2019, Puig started placing bets on various sports through someone named Donny Kadokawa, who would make bets on Puig’s behalf on an illegal website that Wayne Joseph Nix, a former minor league pitcher, was running. By June, Puig owed Nix $282,900.

“Kadokawa and Benny Bonilla, another person who assisted Puig with payments to Nix, instructed Puig to make a check or wire transfer payable to a Nix gambling business client – Joseph Schottenstein – to whom the business owed at least $200,000 in gambling winnings,” the DOJ wrote.

Nix didn’t allow Puig to use his website until he paid off his debt, which Puig eventually did. After Nix let Puig use the website again, Puig placed 899 bets between July 4 and Sept. 29, 2019. This led to Puig owing Nix nearly $1 million in debt, but Puig would never pay it back.

In January 2022, federal agents interviewed Puig about the gambling, and this is where Puig’s actions would land him in illegal trouble. He was warned by authorities that lying would be a crime, yet he chose to lie anyway.

“During the interview, he falsely stated that he ‘only’ knew Kadokawa from baseball and that he never discussed gambling with him, when in fact Puig discussed sports betting with Kadokawa hundreds of times on the telephone and via text message,” the DOJ wrote.

Puig also claimed he didn’t know the person instructing him to send Schottenstein $200,000, and he placed a bet online with an unknown person on an unknown website, causing him to lose $200,000. Despite all of Puig’s denials, Puig sent Bonilla an audio message via WhatsApp where he admitted he lied to federal agents two months earlier.

Additionally, during his naturalization process, Puig lied on an immigration form and while under oath during an interview when he said he never placed illegal bets or received income from illegal bets.

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Dolly M. Gee, United States District Judge, scheduled a May 26 sentencing hearing, where Puig will face up to 10 years in prison for the obstruction of justice charge and up to five years for the false statements.