One day after the federal indictment was unsealed, suspended Cleveland Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase was still not in custody. Why one of the game’s best relief pitchers risked what looked a lot like a possible Hall of Fame career, with earning potential into the nine-digit range, is unknown. But his greed, disrespect for the game, and cavalier attitude toward game fixing are laid bare vividly in the 23-page indictment written by federal prosecutors and filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Per the indictment, Clase agreed to or arranged to deliver rigged pitches in at least 11 Major League Baseball games between the Cleveland Guardians and at least 10 different teams between April 2023-June 2025, meaning he bet on or fixed parts of games at the height of his dominance. Among other accolades, Clase was the American League Reliever of the Year and saves leader in 2024.
His disregard for the integrity of the game may be best exemplified by conduct on May 28, 2025, when Clase allegedly attempted to throw a ball, but it resulted in a strike because the batter swung, causing a co-conspirator to lose a $4,000 bet. The Guardians beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-4, that day, and Clase got the save. But he sent a “sad puppy dog face” GIF to the bettor who lost.
Proposition bets (“prop” bets) have come under fire in recent weeks, especially in light of the NBA betting scandal that broke in late October in which Terry Rozier and co-conspirators allegedly attempted to manipulate his on-court performance and cash in on “under” props. In response, on Monday, Major League Baseball and major sportsbook operators announced a cap on pitching prop bets.
The indictment for Clase and starting pitcher Luis Ortiz in the latest sports betting scandal, unsealed Sunday, reveals a culture in which Clase repeatedly traded money for information, bet on himself, and transferred money across state and international lines. As federal prosecutors wrote in the indictment, “Through this scheme, the defendants defrauded betting platforms, deprived Major League Baseball and the Cleveland Guardians of their honest services, illegally enriched themselves and their co-conspirators, misled the public, and betrayed America’s pastime.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York charged both with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy, and they face up to 65 years in prison. Late Sunday, Ortiz’s lawyer released a statement proclaiming Ortiz’s innocence, and vowed to fight the charges. Ortiz was scheduled for a court appearance in Boston Monday, after being arrested at Logan International Airport, though his case will move to the U.S. District Court’s Eastern District of New York where he will be arraigned Wednesday at 11 a.m. Per a press release from the Eastern District Tuesday, Clase is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at 2 p.m. The Eastern District also confirmed that Clase is not yet in custody.
clase_and_ortiz_indictmentSurrendering makes for lighter sentences
The charges are far beyond any others brought by federal prosecutors against U.S. professional athletes in the last several years. Ippei Mizuhara, Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, faced up to 33 years in prison for stealing from his employer and wagering with an illegal bookie. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison in February. His bookmaker, Mathew Bowyer, faced up to 18 years, but was sentenced to one, in large part because he turned himself in and cooperated with federal investigators.
Former NBA player Jontay Porter, who awaits sentencing in his own betting saga, was charged with a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which has a maximum sentence of 20 years. Federal prosecutors are recommending 41-51 months at sentencing in New York next month.
Ortiz did not turn himself in and pleaded not guilty Sunday. Clase remains at large. There is a clear protocol for stepping down sentences from the maximum. By surrendering, Mizuhara and Bowyer saw their potential sentences reduced, as Porter likely will, as well.
In addition, the scope of the alleged crimes — sending money across state and international lines, as well as receiving “bribes and kickbacks” — elevates the potential penalties. Three of the four counts come with 20-year maximums. Count Two — Honest Wire Services Fraud Conspiracy — and Count Three — Conspiracy to Influence Sporting Contests by Bribery — have not appeared in other U.S. wagering scandal cases. The other two counts — wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy — have.
The players “did knowingly and intentionally conspire to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud the Cleveland Guardians and the MLB of their intangible rights to the honest services of CLASE and ORTIZ through bribery and kickbacks,” the indictment reads.
This was Clase’s show
Clase, as the indictment reveals, was the brains of the operation, and Ortiz allegedly had limited involvement. If found guilty, Ortiz will have thrown away a pro baseball career for what appears to be a $12,000 payout. Ortiz, who played his first MLB game Sept. 13, 2022 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was a regular starter for Cleveland in 2025 and earned the league minimum $760,000. Clase is in the middle of a five-year, $20 million contract.
Court documents reveal that Clase worked with two co-conspirators, dubbed “Bettor 1” and “Bettor 2,” who opened wagering accounts on legal sports betting platforms referred to as “Betting Platform 1” and “Betting Platform 2.” Both are described as “sportsbooks that operated online platforms and physical sportsbooks, usually at casinos.”
According to the Ohio Casino Control Commission, national operators BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, Fanatics Sportsbook, FanDuel, Hard Rock, and Penn Entertainment (ESPN Bet) have retail locations in Ohio. In addition, local entities Jack Entertainment and Miami Valley Gaming offer retail and digital sports betting in the state. It’s not clear whether any or all of the bets were placed in Ohio or elsewhere.
Bettors 1 and 2 are both identified as Dominican Republic nationals, and Bettor 2 also engaged Individual 1, identified as residing in the Eastern District of New York, to open a second account on Betting Platform 1. Bettor 2 placed wagers on all three accounts. In some cases, Clase instructed Bettor 2 to wager on his behalf and wired him money. In others, Clase, and later Ortiz, got paid for providing information and executing rigged pitches.
The crux of the scheme was that Clase would allegedly alert the bettors that he would throw, or arrange for Ortiz to throw, a ball instead of a strike, and also modify the speed of the pitch. Bettors could then place prop bets on what the pitch would be, as well as place over/under bets on the speed. In most cases, Clase would throw a slider rather than the faster cut fastball, and often, the pitch would land in the dirt.
In-game text/talk ban didn’t matter
The first occurrence detailed was on May 19, 2023 vs. the New York Mets. Clase allegedly shared information with the bettors, promising a pitch faster than 94.95 mph. The bets paid approximately $27,000. It appears from court documents that Clase was betting through the 2023 and 2024 seasons, but in April 2025 “requested and received bribe and kickback payments.” In June, Ortiz began participating in the scheme.
Key to the investigation is that Clase repeatedly broke an MLB rule banning the use of cell phones during games. Prosecutors allege that Clase repeatedly texted and talked with his co-conspirators during games, sometimes minutes before he entered a game.
As an example, on May 17, 2025, Clase allegedly texted Bettor 1 at 8:24 p.m. asking if he was “ready.” Bettor 1 responded, “[b]ut of course.” Approximately 10 minutes later, Bettor 1, Bettor 2, and several others won approximately $10,000 on Betting Platform 2 by placing multiple bets that a “pitch thrown by CLASE would both be a Ball/HBP and would be slower than 97.95 mph.”
Federal prosecutors also shared text messages between Clase and the bettors, including this exchange on May 20, 2025:
Clase: [L]et me know when you send the thing
Bettor 1: I will start with 2,000
Bettor 1 then communicated with a Clase associate in the Dominican Republic to send about $2,000 to “an individual in the Dominican Republic for CLASE’s benefit.”
It’s unclear where all of the bets made by Bettors 1 and 2 were placed. The indictment includes information about Bettor 1 “travel[ing] to Ohio and visit[ing] CLASE at his residence.” Clase allegedly also got the bettors tickets to some Guardians games.
Clase sends sad emoji despite win, save
Court documents show that most of the wagers made on Clase and Ortiz were prop bets, but does indicate that 16 parlay bets were made involving Clase pitches. The court documents detail one parlay bet that did not pay on May 28, 2025. Per the indictment:
In total, the bettors allegedly won “at least” $400,000 on bets on pitches made by Clase, and $50,000 on pitches made by Ortiz. On June 19, 2025, Clase allegedly sent Ortiz a photograph of a receipt for 90,000 pesos (about $4,900 USD) transfer, and an audio file “directing ORTIZ to cause his associates in the Dominican Republic to lie about the purpose of the funds ORTIZ was receiving if asked: ‘They’re going to ask him what is that payment for over there. Tell him that this is payment for a horse. Payment for a horse. You got that?’ ORTIZ responded, ‘Okay, perfect.'”
Clase reportedly has a farm in the Dominican Republic.
Neither player banned yet
Ortiz appeared in federal court in Boston Monday afternoon, before a yet-to-be-scheduled arraignment in New York’s Eastern District. Ortiz was reportedly released on $500,000 bond and will be in court in the Eastern District of New York Wednesday.
Per Major League Baseball’s Rule 21, players betting on the game or themselves will be banned for life, but Commissioner Rob Manfred as of Monday had not made an announcement regarding Clase or Ortiz. A league spokesperson Sunday told media outlets, “MLB contacted federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and has fully cooperated throughout the process. We are aware of the indictment and today’s arrest, and our investigation is ongoing.”
In 2024, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Porter for violating league rules before Porter pleaded guilty, and Manfred banned Tucupita Marcano and suspended four others for a year for violating the league’s gambling policy. Marcano is currently playing for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association of Professional Baseball.
