2 Cleveland pitchers charged in MLB betting scheme to fix game pitches

By Patricia Hurtado

 

Two Cleveland Guardians pitchers have been indicted on federal charges accusing them of engaging in a scheme to rig sports bets based on pitches they threw during Major League Baseball games. 

 

Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz and Luis Leandro Ortiz Ribera were named in an indictment unsealed Sunday in federal court in Brooklyn. Ortiz was arrested at Logan Airport in Boston Sunday morning while Clase is not currently in custody, said John Marzulli, a spokesman for Brooklyn US Attorney Joseph Nocella. 

 

Both players “agreed in advance with their co-conspirators to throw specific types of pitches and speeds of pitches,” prosecutors in Nocella’s office said in a statement. Co-conspirators then allegedly used that inside information to place bets, they said.

 

 

“As alleged, the defendants sold that trust to gamblers by fixing pitches,” Nocella said in a statement. “In doing so, the defendants deprived the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball of their honest services. They defrauded the online betting platforms where the bets were placed. And they betrayed America’s pastime.”

 

Clase, a Guardians relief pitcher, is accused of agreeing with corrupt sports bettors to rig “prop” bets on particular pitches he threw. The bettors wagered on the speed and type of Clase’s pitches based on information they knew in advance by coordinating with him, sometimes even during games. 

 

The US said Clase often threw rigged pitches on the first pitch of an at-bat and, to ensure certain pitches were called as balls, he allegedly threw many of them in the dirt. Bettors used the advance information that Clase provided to wager thousands of dollars at online sportsbooks, according to prosecutors.

 

Prosecutors said Ortiz joined Clase in the scheme in about June and agreed in advance to throw balls — instead of strikes — on pitches in two games in exchange for bribes and kickbacks. 

 

Before a June 15 game, Ortiz is accused of agreeing with co-conspirators to throw a ball on a particular pitch in exchange for bribes. Ortiz was paid a $5,000 bribe for throwing the rigged pitch while Clase got $5,000 bribe for arranging it, according to the US.

 

“We are aware of the indictment and today’s arrest, and our investigation is ongoing,” Major League Baseball said in a statement, adding it will continue to fully cooperate with law enforcement. The players were put on paid leave in July, the league said.

 

Ortiz’s lawyer denied the government’s allegations.

 

“Luis Ortiz is innocent of the charges related to two pitches he threw,” attorney Chris Georgis said in a statement. “He has never, and would never, improperly influence a game —not for anyone and not for anything. There is no credible evidence Luis knowingly did anything other than try to win games, with every pitch and in every inning.”

 

Both Clase and Ortiz face a host of charges including wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, engaging in a scheme to influence sporting contests by bribery as well as participating in a money-laundering conspiracy. If convicted of the wire fraud scheme, both men face up to 30 years in prison. 

 

Clase’s alleged actions date back to May 2023, while Oritz’s began in June, according to the indictment. 

 

Prosecutors said Clase’s actions allowed bettors to make $700,000, while Ortiz’s helped gamblers $60,000. 

 

The new sports-betting case comes after Nocella’s office last month announced a pair of indictments charging more than 30 people, including NBA’s Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat, and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups with engaging in schemes tied to illegal sports betting and rigged poker games.

 

Ortiz is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Monday, Marzulli said. 

 

Michael Ferrara, a lawyer for Clase, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the charges.