Feds indict 2 Cleveland Guardians pitchers for alleged sports betting and money laundering scheme
By Kevin Dotson, CNN
(CNN) — Cleveland Guardians’ pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted for allegedly taking part in a scheme to rig bets placed on Major League Baseball games.
Clase and Ortiz face charges on multiple counts of wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, money laundering conspiracy and more, according to prosecutors.
“Ortiz was arrested earlier today in Boston, Massachusetts, and will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, Massachusetts on November 10,” said Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
“Clase is currently not in U.S. custody,” Nocella added.
A lawyer for Ortiz maintains his client’s innocence.
“There is no credible evidence Luis knowingly did anything other than try to win games, with every pitch and in every inning,” attorney Chris Georgalis told CNN in an email. “Luis looks forward to fighting these charges in court.”
CNN has reached out to Clase’s attorney for comment.
Both players were placed on non-disciplinary leave during the 2025 MLB season in relation to a sports betting probe.
“We are aware of the recent law enforcement action,” the Guardians tell CNN. “We will continue to fully cooperate with both law enforcement and Major League Baseball as their investigations continue.”
Major League Baseball says it has also been cooperating with the DOJ investigation.
“MLB contacted federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and has fully cooperated throughout the process,” a league spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. “We are aware of the indictment and today’s arrest, and our investigation is ongoing.”
The indictment alleges “the defendants agreed in advance with their co-conspirators on specific pitches that they would throw in MLB games. The co-conspirators then used that information to place hundreds of fraudulent bets on those pitches.”
Clase’s involvement in the scheme is alleged to have started in 2023. The three-time All-Star coordinated with corrupt sports bettors to rig proposition bets on particular pitches he would throw, prosecutors say.
The bettors would then wager on the speed and type of Clase’s pitches, based on information they received in advance from Clase, sometimes even during games, per the indictment.
The DOJ says bettors won at least $400,000 using inside information on Clase’s pitches.
Ortiz is accused of joining the enterprise in 2025, working alongside Clase to coordinate with bettors on rigged pitches he would throw.
Prosecutors allege Ortiz was paid a total of $12,000 to intentionally throw a ball instead of a strike in two MLB games. Clase allegedly received matching payments for his role in helping to arrange Ortiz’s rigged pitches, the feds say, with gamblers winning at least $60,000 in the process.
The indictment, which was filed on Wednesday and unsealed Sunday, comes on the heels of a series of similar indictments involving Portland Trail Blazers head coach and basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA journeyman Damon Jones.
The trio was arrested in October in relation to two separate federal gambling investigations, one involving rigged high-stakes poker games and the other involving insider trading in sports betting.
Both the MLB and NBA cases are being handled by Nocella’s Brooklyn office.
If convicted of all charges, Clase and Ortiz could potentially face decades behind bars.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Amanda Musa contributed to this report.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
