Former Dodgers Star Yasiel Puig to Plead Guilty to Lying in Illegal Gambling Probe

The former Los Angeles Dodgers player agreed to plead guilty to lying to federal law enforcement officials.

According to the Department of Justice, he admitted to placing bets.

The IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher said that Mr. Puig chose not to tell the truth when given the chance. The investigators and prosecutors were hampered by Mr. Puig's lies.

The websites owned by Wayne Joseph Nix were the root of the losses. He paid back $200,000 and then placed more than 800 bets.

When he told investigators he didn't discuss gambling with an agent, he was actually telling the truth.

An audio recording of the All-Star admitting to lying to federal officials was obtained by federal investigators.

No one is above the law under the justice system. The integrity of the criminal justice system depends on people telling the truth and those who don't must face consequences.

In March, he pleaded guilty to operating an illegal sports gambling business and filing a false tax return.

The DOJ said that the court documents made public this week show that the bookmaking business started about 20 years ago. He employed three former Major League Baseball players to assist with the business and developed a client list that included current and former professional athletes.

At the time, the connection to the case wasn't revealed. He could face up to five years in federal prison if he pleads guilty. He agreed to pay a large amount of money.

He did not play in MLB in 2019. He earned over 50 million dollars over the course of seven years.