(Image Source – Getty Images) A jury in Los Angeles federal court found Yasiel Puig Valdés, a 35-year-old former Major League Baseball outfielder from Miami, guilty of one count of obstruction of justice and one count of making false statements. The verdict stems from Puig’s role in an illegal sports gambling operation and lies he told federal investigators during a January 2022 interview.Puig, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians (now Guardians), and teams in Mexico and South Korea, faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison for obstruction of justice and up to five years for making false statements. U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee scheduled sentencing for May 26, 2026. Puig remains free on his own recognizance.
Yasiel Puig’s involvement in the gambling activities
Evidence at the 13-day trial showed that Puig began placing bets in May 2019 through Donny Kadokawa, a Hawaii youth baseball coach and sub-agent for Nix’s operation. Kadokawa testified on January 21, 2026, that he placed numerous bets on Puig’s behalf and received 25% of the profit Nix made from Puig’s losses. Kadokawa pleaded guilty in 2022 to two counts of filing false tax returns and has not yet been sentenced.By June 2019, Puig owed Nix’s business $282,900. Kadokawa and another associate, Benny Bonilla, instructed Puig to make a $200,000 payment to Joseph Schottenstein, a separate Nix client owed gambling winnings. On June 25, 2019, Puig withdrew $200,000 from a Bank of America branch in Glendale, California, and purchased two $100,000 cashier’s checks payable to Schottenstein. Text messages showed Puig receiving instructions to make the checks out to Nix’s other client, and investigators later recovered a photo of the UPS shipping label from Nix’s phone.After the payment, Nix gave Puig direct access to betting websites. From July 4 to September 29, 2019, Puig placed 899 additional bets on tennis, football, and basketball, often from MLB ballparks before and after games. He did not bet on baseball. By the end of September 2019, Puig owed nearly $1 million, which he never paid.IRS Special Agent Christen Seymour testified around January 28, 2026, that Puig lost more than $1.5 million in bets with Nix over roughly five months in 2019. The figure included about $500,000 in wire transfers to shell companies and $980,000 in unpaid losses, excluding cash payments and the cashier’s checks. Seymour testified under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Morse.
The January 2022 interview and false statements of Yasiel Puig
Federal investigators interviewed Puig by videoconference in January 2022 for approximately 90 minutes with his lawyer present. After being warned that lying to federal agents is a crime, Puig made multiple false statements.Puig said he “only” knew Kadokawa through baseball and never discussed gambling with him, despite extensive call and text records related to betting. When shown a June 25, 2019, cashier’s check, Puig falsely claimed he did not know who instructed him to send $200,000 to Schottenstein and said the payment was for a loss on an unknown website with an unknown person. Puig told investigators, “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.Prosecutors wrote in a trial memorandum that during a final break, “the government privately advised the defendant’s then-counsel that the defendant’s statements were contrary to evidence the government had already obtained during the Nix Gambling Business investigation.” Although counsel conferred with Puig, he did not alter his statements.Puig’s former attorney, Steven Gebelin, testified that Puig attempted to cooperate but said the interpreter struggled with Puig’s Spanish dialect. Defense attorney Keri Curtis Axel argued that Puig, who has a third-grade education, suffered from untreated mental health issues and lacked his own interpreter or criminal legal counsel during the interview.
Yasiel Puig’s plea deal, withdrawal, and trial proceedings
Puig initially agreed to plead guilty to one count of lying to federal authorities, admitting to more than $280,000 in gambling losses and agreeing to pay at least a $55,000 fine with potential probation. Weeks later, he withdrew from the agreement, stating, “I want to clear my name. I never should have agreed to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit.” A federal judge ruled the deal non-binding because no formal plea was entered.Prosecutors added the obstruction of justice charge in January 2023. The case was delayed by an appeal concerning the admissibility of facts from the withdrawn plea.Jury selection concluded on January 20, 2026, with testimony beginning the following day. Prosecutors presented testimony from MLB officials, Kadokawa, and expert witnesses on Puig’s cognitive abilities, and played audio recordings of Puig speaking English to argue he knowingly misled investigators.The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Juan M. Rodriguez, Michael J. Morse, and Laura A. Alexander, with assistance from Jeffrey P. Mitchell. Puig’s defense disputed the government’s account, with Axel citing messages showing Kadokawa repeatedly contacted Puig about the investigation, raising concerns about potential entrapment.Also Read: Why the New York Yankees re-signing Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year deal makes sense