Two Major League Baseball pitchers charged in sports gambling scheme
Two pitchers for the Cleveland Guardians have been accused of taking bribes to fix pitches they threw during Major League Baseball games.
The pitchers, Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz and Luis Leandro Ortiz Ribera, were charged in connection with the sports betting scheme and money laundering, federal prosecutors and the FBI announced Sunday.
Prosecutors say the scheme generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal betting.
“Defendants’ alleged greed has not only created an unfair advantage for some bettors, but also tainted the reputation of America’s pastime,” FBI Deputy Director Christopher Raia said in a statement. Both players have denied any wrongdoing.
The indictment alleges that Mr. Ortiz and Mr. Clase coordinated in advance with the co-conspirators, allowing the co-conspirators, and sometimes themselves, to place hundreds of fraudulent bets at online sports betting sites.
Prosecutors say Mr. Clase, who they say joined the scheme around May 2023, and Mr. Ortiz, who they say joined the scheme around June 2025, each received bribes or kickbacks from the bettors in exchange for advanced information.
For example, before a June 27, 2025, game, bettors paid Mr. Ortiz $7,000 to throw a rigged pitch and paid Mr. Clase the same amount for arranging the rigged pitch, prosecutors allege. Before the game, Mr. Clase took out $50,000 in cash and gave $15,000 to a co-conspirator who used it to bet on the field, according to the indictment.
In total, Mr. Ortiz’s rigged arguments helped his co-conspirators win at least $60,000 from illegal betting, while Mr. Clase’s rigged arguments helped his co-conspirators win at least $400,000, prosecutors say.
“The defendants deprived the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball of their honest services. They defrauded the online betting platforms on which the bets were placed,” said US Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr, in a statement.
“When corruption seeps into sport, it not only dishonors the participants, but it also damages public trust in an institution that is vital and dear to all of us,” Mr Nocella added.
Mr. Ortiz was arrested Sunday in Boston, and Mr. Clase is not currently in U.S. custody, authorities said.
Both players were placed on non-disciplinary paid leave over the summer while they were amid an MLB investigation into sports gambling.
Both men were charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to corruptly influence sporting competitions and money laundering conspiracy.
In a statement, the Cleveland Guardians said they are fully cooperating with law enforcement and the league in their investigations.
Luis Ortiz’s lawyer, Chris Georgalis, told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that his client “is innocent of the charges relating to the two pitches he threw.”
“He has never, and will never, inappropriately influence a game for anyone or anything,” Mr. Georgalis told CBS.
The BBC also contacted Mr Clase’s representative, Kelvin Nova.
While the investigation into Mr. Clase was still ongoing before the indictments, Mr. Nova told Cleveland.com that his client “told me he wasn’t betting.”
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The charges come just weeks after the FBI announced dozens of arrests in two similar sports betting and money laundering schemes involving a professional NBA player and coach as well as members of New York crime families.
