Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have charged Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz and Luis Leandro Ortiz Ribera in a sweeping sports activities betting and cash laundering conspiracy.
According to an indictment unsealed Sunday in the Eastern District of New York, Clase and Ortiz conspired with corrupt sports activities bettors to govern pitch outcomes in a number of Major League Baseball video games between 2023 and 2025. Prosecutors allege the pair agreed to throw particular pitches — slower sliders or intentional balls — after receiving bribes, permitting bettors to put profitable “prop” and “parlay” bets utilizing insider data.
The indictment particulars how Clase, a reduction pitcher, started coordinating with bettors as early as May 2023. He allegedly texted or known as co-conspirators throughout stay MLB video games, in violation of league guidelines, to substantiate which pitches he would throw.
Bettors then wagered on outcomes like pitch velocity or whether or not a pitch would land outdoors the strike zone. In one 2023 sport towards the New York Mets, bettors reportedly received $27,000 after wagering on a pitch Clase threw quicker than 94.95 mph.
Federal brokers allege that Clase obtained kickbacks and bribes disguised as “repairs at the country house” and directed associates in the Dominican Republic to assist launder the funds. Overall, bettors received over $400,000 from wagers tied to Clase’s pitches.
Ortiz allegedly joined the conspiracy in June 2025, agreeing to throw intentional balls in change for bribes throughout video games towards the Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals. Before a sport on June 15, Ortiz and Clase have been every promised $5,000 for arranging and executing a rigged pitch.
Two weeks later, Ortiz threw one other mounted pitch for $7,000, whereas Clase withdrew $50,000 in money to assist fund wagers. Prosecutors estimate that the bettors netted at the very least $60,000 on Ortiz’s manipulated pitches.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed that Ortiz was arrested Sunday morning by the FBI at Boston Logan International Airport and can make his first courtroom look Monday, November 10, in federal courtroom in Boston. His protection legal professional is Chris Georgalis of Ohio. Clase, represented by Michael Ferrara, stays outdoors U.S. custody as of this writing.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. condemned the alleged conduct, saying, “The defendants sold that trust to gamblers by fixing pitches. They defrauded the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball of their honest services. And they betrayed America’s pastime.”
FBI Assistant Director Christopher Raia added, “Their alleged greed not only established an unfair advantage for select bettors but also sullied the reputation of America’s pastime.”
Both gamers face a number of felony fees, together with wire fraud conspiracy, trustworthy companies fraud, bribery conspiracy, and cash laundering, every carrying potential jail sentences of as much as 20 years.
The MLB fees come amid a widening federal probe into unlawful playing throughout skilled sports activities. Just weeks earlier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier have been arrested in associated investigations.
Billups has been charged in reference to what ABC News described as “an illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia,” whereas Rozier was detained in Orlando after a long-running probe into suspicious betting patterns from a 2023 Hornets sport that federal authorities had already linked to the case of former Raptors ahead Jontay Porter.