Yasiel Puig is a Cuban who debuted with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013, he played with that team until 2018, between 2019 Puig played for two MLB teams, Reds and Guardians until he finally had to leave the country due to lack of offers for play.
After his escape from Cuba, Yasiel began to build his life in the United States but from the first year he was in the United States the problems began, in 2013 he was charged with reckless driving and speeding in Tennessee.
Yasiel is unlikely to return to MLB in 2023 especially after his new issue with the feds. This time things could be worse for him, as federal agents are accusing him of being a liar in an illegal sports betting case.
How did Yasiel Puig lie to the feds?
According to the DOJ information, Yasiel Puig agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge for lying to Federal Agents investigating illegal gambling operation. In a few words, the investigators asked him if he made sports bets to which Yasiel Puig lied, saying that he had nothing to do with it.
But the agents had all the information, including the text messages between Yasiel Puig and another person who made sports bets for him. In addition, the investigators had all the evidence about a payment of $200,000 dollars that Yasiel made to pay a gambling debt with the owner of the illegal sports betting website, called Wayne Joseph Nix.
DOJ, 14 November, Puig and Federal Investigators
All this matter happened in 2019, Puig would have bet about 899 times in multiple sports such as tennis, football and basketball using Nix’s illegal website. Puig lied multiple times about his connection to the person who placed some bets on him despite agents confronting him with photos of the text messages.
Puig will pay a $55,000 fine and his initial appearance is scheduled for November 15, 2022.
