Two pitchers from the Cleveland Guardians have been indicted by the Department of Justice, accused of taking bribes from sports bettors.
Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were accused of making sure gamblers had successful bets depending on what pitch they threw, The Associated Press reported.
Federal prosecutors said they took several thousand dollars from gamblers in the Dominican Republic to help the gamblers win at least $460,000 from bets made on specific pitches.
The DOJ said the scheme started in May 2023 when bettors would place a wager on the speed and type of pitch thrown by Clase.
Ortiz was accused of rigging a pitch on June 27, 2025.
“Luis Leandro Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz allegedly rigged their pitches in professional baseball games, so that an inner circle, and occasionally themselves, could quietly cash out their winnings,” FBA Assistant Director in charge Christopher Raia said in a news release.
Both Clase and Ortiz were on non-disciplinary paid leave since the investigation started by Major League Baseball in July.
The MLB noticed unusually high in-game bets being made when they pitched in April, May and June.
The FBI arrested Ortiz on Sunday at Boston Logan International Airport. Clase is not in custody.
They are facing charges of wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy, the DOJ said in a news release.
If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the wire fraud and money laundering charges and five years for the bribery charge, the DOJ said.
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