Former Dodger Outfielder Convicted of Lying to Federal Investigators

Former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig has been found guilty of obstructing justice and lying to federal investigators, the United States Department of Justice said Friday.

Puig, 35, was federally charged in connection with allegations that he placed illegal bets on sporting events while still playing professional baseball.

Over a 13-day trial, prosecutors presented evidence that showed Puig began placing bets in May 2019, utilizing an intermediary, and eventually racked up more than a quarter-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 settled, he then proceeded to place more than 800 bets through online platforms, including football and basketball games and tennis matches. Many of those bets, officials said, were placed while he was on MLB ballpark property, often placed before or after games in which he’d played.

His losses continued to mount, eventually leading to nearly $1 million in debt to the illegal gambling business. The debt, federal officials said, was never paid.

Friday’s conviction is related to the federal investigation into his illegal dealings, with the DOJ saying he lied to agents on several occasions during the course of their probe.

Although he claimed to not know the man with whom he’d placed many of his bets, investigators were aware of hundreds of phone calls and text messages that revealed the opposite to be true. Puig also sent a voice message to another creditor in which he admitted to lying to federal agents.

Puig, who is originally from Cuba, became a naturalized American citizen in 2019, which required him to testify that he never engaged in illegal gambling.

Puig is expected to be sentenced in May, at which point he could face more than a decade in prison. Wayne Joseph Nix, who Puig owed much of his gambling debt, previously pleaded guilty in the federal probe and is due to be sentenced “in the coming months.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Puig in 2012, and he become a near-overnight sensation for the beleaguered team that was undergoing an ownership transition from Frank McCourt to the current owner, Mark Walter and Guggenheim Group.

Puig appeared in more than 700 games in six seasons as a Dodger. He recorded a .277 batting-average, notched 636 hits, including 108 home runs, and was named a 2014 MLB All-Star.

During an interview with Dodgers Nation in October 2025, Puig told Doug McKain he was interested in re-signing with the Dodgers so he could retire as a member of the team.

He has also voiced interest in fighting his one-time rival, former San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, to a televised mixed-martial arts fight.

The latter seems to be much more likely now after his recent conviction.