Former Los Angeles Dodger Yasiel Puig was found guilty of obstructing justice and lying to federal officials in a Los Angeles courtroom on Friday … in connection to an investigation into an illegal gambling operation.
The 35-year-old now faces up to 10 years in federal prison on the obstruction of justice charge and up to five years in prison for the false statement charges.
He remains free on his own personal recognizance.
Puig — who last played in the MLB in 2019 — allegedly started placing illegal bets in May 2019 through an illegal gambling business run by former minor league pitcher Wayne Nix.
According to prosecutors, by June 2019, he had racked up $282,900 in sports gambling losses. After paying off his debts later that month … Nix then provided Puig direct access to the betting sites — which saw him place 899 bets from July 4, 2019 through September 29, 2019 on tennis, football and basketball games.
Sentencing is set for May 26.
In January 2022 … federal investigators interviewed Puig as part of their larger investigation. During that chat, they say he lied several times about his participation in the gambling organization.
Fast-forward to November 2022, he made a deal with the feds to close out the case — agreeing to plead guilty to lying to federal prosecutors.
He backed out of it days later, saying, “I never should have agreed to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit.”
After a 13-day trial, prosecutors convinced a jury that he was indeed guilty.
Puig has yet to comment on the guilty verdict.
