Copyright AM New York
Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz and Luis Leandro Ortiz, two current Major League Baseball players (MLB) in the Cleveland Guardians organization, were charged on Sunday in a sports betting and money laundering scheme in a Brooklyn federal court. The players are alleged to have had roles in a scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown in MLB games beginning early in the 2023 season. They face a list of charges including wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sports betting by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the players allegedly received bribes and kickbacks for their role in the scheme over several MLB seasons. “Luis Leandro Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz allegedly rigged their pitches in professional baseball games, so that an inner circle, and occasionally themselves, could quietly cash out their winnings,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia said in a press release. “The defendants’ alleged greed not only established an unfair advantage for select bettors, but also sullied the reputation of America’s pastime. The FBI will ensure any individual who exploits their position as a professional athlete at the expense of others strikes out.” According to the indictment handed out on Nov. 9, the defendants agreed in advance with their co-conspirators on specific pitches that they would throw during MLB games. The defendants then used that information to place hundreds of fraudulent bets on those pitches. The suit alleges specific instances in May 2023 where Clase, a relief pitcher for the Guardians, agreed with corrupt sports bettors to rig proposition bets, or “prop” bets, on particular pitches he threw in a game. The reliever is alleged to have thrown most of these pitches on the opening pitch of an at-bat, often in the dirt and well outside of the strike zone. The bettors used the advanced, inside information provided by Clase to wager thousands of dollars at online sports books. Around June 2025, Ortiz, a starting pitcher for Cleveland, joined in on the alleged criminal action. According to the suit, the pair received kickbacks of $5,000 each before a game on June 15, 2025, for Ortiz throwing a rigged pitch (a ball) in game. Ortiz allegedly received his money for throwing the pitch, while Clase was rewarded for arranging the situation. Additional criminal activity is alleged to have occurred later in June 2025, as well. The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proved guilty. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence totaling over 60+ years, including 20 years imprisonment on multiple wire fraud counts.
