A federal jury has convicted former MLB outfielder Yasiel Puig on felony charges tied to an illegal sports gambling investigation, closing a long-running case that traced his betting activity back to the final season of his major league career.
According to a statement released by the Department of Justice, on February 6, 2026, jurors found Puig guilty of one count of obstruction of justice and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.
The verdict followed a nearly two-week trial focused not on whether Puig gambled, but on whether he lied to authorities when questioned about it. Sentencing is scheduled for May 26, when Puig could face up to 10 years in prison on the obstruction charge, along with additional time related to the false statement conviction.
Prosecutors argued that Puig deliberately misled investigators during a January 2022 interview conducted as part of a broader probe into an illegal bookmaking operation run by Wayne Joseph Nix.
According to evidence presented at trial, Puig began placing bets through intermediary Donny Kadokawa in May 2019, while he was still an active MLB player.
By early June of that year, prosecutors said Puig had accumulated more than $280,000 in gambling losses.
To cover part of that debt, Puig withdrew $200,000 in cash from a Los Angeles-area bank and converted it into two cashier’s checks made out to a third party connected to the gambling operation.
After the payment was made, Puig allegedly received direct access to betting websites controlled by the bookmaking ring.
Federal authorities testified that Puig placed hundreds of additional wagers on tennis, football, and basketball games between July and September 2019. Many of those bets, they said, were placed from MLB stadiums shortly before or after games in which Puig himself played.
By the end of that period, prosecutors estimated his unpaid gambling losses had climbed to nearly $1 million.
The case ultimately turned on Puig’s statements to investigators. Despite being warned that lying to federal agents is a crime, Puig denied discussing gambling with Kadokawa and claimed ignorance about who directed him to send the cashier’s checks.
Prosecutors also played an audio message Puig sent in March 2022 in which he admitted he had lied during the earlier interview.
Puig’s defense pointed to language barriers and cognitive issues, but the jury rejected those arguments. Puig, who last appeared in MLB in 2019 after stints with the Dodgers, Reds, and Cleveland, remains free pending sentencing.