Puig, 35, was federally indicted in connection with allegations that he placed illegal bets on sporting events while still playing professional baseball.
During a 13-day trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing that Puig began placing bets in May 2019, using an intermediary, and ultimately suffered more than a quarter of a million in losses.
The DOJ said Puig withdrew $200,000 from a Los Angeles-area bank in June 2019 to settle these debts.
After his debts were paid off, he then placed more than 800 bets via online platforms, including football and basketball matches and tennis matches. Many of those bets, officials said, were placed while he was on MLB property, often before or after games in which he had played.
His losses continued to mount, eventually leading to nearly $1 million in debt to the illegal gambling industry. The debt was never paid, according to federal officials.
Friday’s sentencing is related to the federal investigation into his illegal actions, with the DOJ saying he lied to agents several times during their investigation.
Although he claimed not to know the man with whom he had placed many of his bets, investigators were aware of hundreds of phone calls and text messages that showed the opposite was true. Puig also sent a voice message to another creditor admitting to lying to federal agents.
Puig, who is originally from Cuba, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2019, forcing him to testify that he never engaged in illegal gambling.
Puig is expected to be sentenced in May, after which he could face more than 10 years in prison. Wayne Joseph Nix, to whom Puig owed much of his gambling debts, previously pleaded guilty in the federal investigation and will be sentenced “in the coming months.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Puig in 2012, and he became an almost overnight sensation for the beleaguered team that underwent an ownership transition from Frank McCourt to current owner Mark Walter and Guggenheim Group.
Puig played in more than 700 games in six seasons as a Dodger. He posted a .277 batting average, had 636 hits, including 108 home runs, and was named an MLB All-Star in 2014.
During an interview with Dodgers Nation in October 2025, Puig told Doug McKain that he was interested in re-signing with the Dodgers so he could retire as a member of the team.
He has also expressed interest in fighting his former rival, former San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, for a televised mixed-martial arts fight.
The latter now seems much more likely than the former following his recent conviction.
#Dodger #Outfielder #Convicted #Lying #Federal #Investigators