Puig no longer plays professionally in the United States. The right fielder<\/a> spent six seasons with the Dodgers and last played in the MLB in 2019 while splitting time between Cincinnati<\/a> and Cleveland. He later signed with teams that play in South Korea and the Mexican League.<\/p>\n The case stems from a 2017 probe of an illegal gambling business run by ex-minor league pitcher Wayne Nix, 49, of Newport Coast. An investigation of Nix\u2019s actions to launder illicit proceeds and hide income from the Internal Revenue Service led to Puig, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n According to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office, Puig began placing bets on games in May 2019 through an intermediary of Nix\u2019s. By the following month, Puig owed the Nix gambling business $282,900 for sports gambling losses, evidence shows.<\/p>\n Between July and September of 2019, Puig placed 899 bets on tennis, football and basketball games through a Costa Rica-based website associated with Nix, the jury in Los Angeles federal court heard.<\/p>\n Puig\u2019s defense counsel disputed the government\u2019s account of their Cuban-born client\u2019s betting activity.<\/p>\n In January 2022, federal investigators interviewed Puig in the presence of his lawyer via video conferencing. During the 90-minute interview, despite being warned that lying to federal agents is a crime, Puig denied all knowledge of the Nix gambling business and persons participating in it, court papers show.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring a final break, the government privately advised defendant\u2019s then-counsel that defendant\u2019s statements were contrary to evidence the government had already obtained during the Nix Gambling Business investigation,\u201d prosecutors wrote in the trial memorandum. \u201cCounsel conferred with his client outside the presence of the government, but defendant did not change his prior statements.\u201d<\/p>\n In March 2022, according to court records, Puig sent a recorded message to a friend via WhatsApp.<\/p>\n \u201cI no said nothing, I not talking,\u201d the Cuban player said in English, of his conversation with federal prosecutors two months prior. \u201cI said that I only know (Puig\u2019s alleged bookie, a former player) from baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n Prosecutors maintained that Puig lied to the government as part of his naturalization process in 2019, denying on an application that he had ever gambled illegally or received income from illegal gambling and during an in-person interview when he told the interviewer that he had never gambled illegally.<\/p>\n![\"Cincinnati](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Reds-Dodgers-Baseball-10.jpg\")
Cincinnati Reds\u2019 Yasiel Puig watches from the dugout during the fourth inning of the team\u2019s baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Marcio Jose Sanchez)<\/p>\n![\"Los](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/NLCS-Dodgers-Brewers-Baseball_27290739_471300.jpg\")
Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 Yasiel Puig celebrates after Game 7 of the National League Championship Series baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, in Milwaukee. The Dodgers won 5-1 to advance to the World Series. (AP Photo\/Jeff Roberson)<\/p>\n