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Federal prosecutors have charged two Cleveland Guardians pitchers for allegedly rigging their pitches in a sports betting scheme that “betrayed America’s pastime,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said Sunday. Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz, 27, and Luis Leandro Ortiz Ribera, 26, allegedly worked with co-conspirators to place bets on their performance to rake in roughly $450,000 over two years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The prosecutor’s office on Sunday released a previously sealed complaint against the two men accusing them of defrauding sports betting platforms. “Integrity, honesty and fair play are part of the DNA of professional sports,” Nocella said. “When corruption infiltrates the sport, it brings disgrace not only to the participants but damages the public trust in an institution that is vital and dear to all of us.” Both men are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy. According to the unsealed complaint, the alleged scheme began with Clase and two unidentified “bettors” in May 2023. The platform that was being used to place the bets allowed wagers on specific players’ performance, the complaint said. Clase allegedly agreed to throw balls instead of strikes and slower sliders rather than cut fastball “cutter” pitches on many occasions, according to the complaint. Clase allegedly agreed to throw the specific pitches so the person who placed the bet would “profit from illegal wagers made based on that inside information.” The bettors won about $27,000 on wagers placed on Clase’s pitches in a May 19, 2023, game between the Guardians and the New York Mets, the complaint said. It went on to allege they made another $38,000 weeks later in a game against the Boston Red Sox. In the game against the Red Sox, the unnamed co-conspirator placed bets that Clase would throw a ball and that it would be slower than 94.95 mph. Screenshots included in the complaint show an instance where Clase threw slower than 94.95 mph and “into the dirt well before home plate.” Clase allegedly used his cellphone during games, an MLB rule violation, to coordinate with the bettors. He also coordinated with them to send money to the Dominican Republic, instructing them to make it appear as if it was “someone else,” the complaint said. This went on between them until about June 2025, when the complaint says that Ortiz was brought into the alleged scheme. “Ortiz agreed to throw balls (instead of strikes) on certain pitches in exchange for bribes or kickbacks,” the complaint said. In a June 15 game against the Seattle Mariners, Ortiz allegedly agreed to throw a ball instead of a strike in exchange for $5,000. The complaint said that bets placed on the pitch brought in a payout of approximately $26,000. Days after the game, Clase allegedly sent a photograph of a receipt for a wire transfer of approximately 90,000 pesos to an associate in the Dominican Republic. Clase instructed Ortiz to tell the associate that the money was a payment for a horse, the complaint said. The bettors made at least $60,000 on wagers based on Ortiz’s pitches in the month of June, according to the complaint. Prosecutors said that Ortiz was arrested in Boston on Sunday and will make an appearance in federal court on Monday. The MLB Players Association, the players union, declined to comment to NBC News. Clase is not currently in custody, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Ortiz's attorney denied the charges against his client in a statement to ESPN. Chris Georgalis told the outlet that Ortiz "has never, and would never, improperly influence a game -- not for anyone and not for anything." The Guardians said in a statement to NBC News that they were aware of the investigation. “We will continue to fully cooperate with both law enforcement and Major League Baseball as their investigations continue,” the team said. MLB said it contacted federal law enforcement “at the outset of its investigation and has fully cooperated throughout the process.” An investigation by the league is ongoing, it added. This marks the second major sports betting case out of Nocella's office in the last month. In October, his office dropped indictments accusing current and former NBA players of providing nonpublic information to bettors. Those accused in that alleged scheme included Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones. Rozier's attorney denied allegations that the player feigned an injury in a game where he allegedly tipped off his childhood friend, who allegedly placed a bet with that information. Jones is accused of using his relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers to share information about player injuries before it was publicly released by the team, giving his alleged co-conspirators an edge when placing wagers.
