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GuardiansEmmanuel Clase Pleads Not Guilty After Airport Arrest in Federal Betting Case

Prosecutors say the pitchers conspired with bettors on individual pitches to generate hundreds of thousands in prop-bet winnings.

Overview

  • FBI agents arrested Emmanuel Clase at JFK after his flight from the Dominican Republic, and a judge released him on a $600,000 bond with GPS monitoring and a passport surrender.
  • Luis Ortiz pleaded not guilty a day earlier in Brooklyn and was released on a $500,000 bond with GPS monitoring, travel limits, and a prohibition on gambling.
  • Both pitchers are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest-services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy.
  • The indictment alleges Clase began coordinating pitch outcomes in 2023 and recruited Ortiz in June 2025, with specific $5,000 and $7,000 payments tied to pitches on June 15 and June 27 and bettors netting at least $400,000 to $460,000.
  • MLB has kept both players on paid leave and imposed a $200 cap on pitch-level wagers and banned such bets from parlays, as the case heads to a Dec. 2 status hearing and defense lawyers contest the allegations.