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The trial of one time MLB star Yasiel Puig continued Monday. At the heart of the case is whether Puig intentionally lied to federal investigators during a January 2022 interview in regard to his ties to an illegal sports betting ring.
In November 2022, Puig agreed to plead guilty to lying to federal law enforcement officers regarding bets that he placed with the sports betting operation. He faces up to five years in prison. He would go on to change his plea.
In 2025, a federal appeals court agreed with a trial court ruling that Puig's plea deal had not been accepted by a court.
The government claims Puig lied to federal agents in 2022 when he denied he had been involved with the underground gambling organization that the bookmaker, former minor league baseball player Wayne Nix, operated in Southern California.
Iin January 2023, the government filed a superseding indictment, adding obstruction of justice to Puig’s charges.
“Defendant Puig knowingly and willfully made … materially false statements and representations,” according to the government’s 2023 superseding indictment, “knowing these statements and representations were untrue.”
On Thursday, Hawaiian baseball coach Donny Kadokawa took the stand as one of the government’s key witnesses.
Kadokawa's testimony included allegations that Puig amassed massive gambling debts within days of wagering with Nix's gambling network. Kadokawa claims he placed bets on behalf of Puig.
He tearfully took the stand, saying that this “brings back this horrific experience and what it put me through.”
“It was getting too out of hand for me,” Kadokawa said under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Juan Rodriguez. “I didn’t know where this was going.”
Kadokawa referenced the $237,000 Puig allegedly owed Nix in June of 2019.
He continued to take the stand on Friday, providing details of how Puig allegedly bet thousands of dollars on tennis matches. Kadokawa ultimately testified for 2 1/2 days.
Puig allegedly placed at least 899 bets,
Puig's defense attorneys claim their client's limited comprehension of the English language led to him settling.
From From The New York Times:
“Puig’s first language is not English,” his defense lawyers wrote in a 2023 motion regarding selective prosecution, “and he suffers from a variety of cognitive and social disabilities.” In 2021, Puig’s attorney in a sexual assault matter, Scott Lesowitz, made a similar argument when explaining why his client settled. Lesowitz told the Washington Post that Puig denied the assault allegations, but “limited English abilities” led to him accepting advice to settle.
The government tried to establish that Puig understood English with Kadokawa's testimony.
From The Times:
Attempting to dispel the language barrier defense, Government lawyers attempted to enter a three-minute interview video into its questioning of Kadokawa. It was of Puig speaking English in 2019, when he was on the Cincinnati Reds. The judge didn’t allow the video to be played.
The cross examination raised questions about Kadowka’s credibility. He pled guilty to lesser charges — two counts of filing a false tax return — in exchange for his cooperation. His sentencing recommendation, it was established, would be based on his testimony and the level of assistance he provided the government.
On numerous occasions, Kadokawa answered that he didn’t know, or couldn’t recall facts related to his charges and cooperation. That was the case even in response to simple questions relating to what Kadokawa was charged with, or whether or not he told investigators that he’d deleted relevant text messages off his phone.
Each time, defense attorney Keri Curtis Axel responded by asking if providing documentation would refresh his recollection. But he repeatedly said no to that question, which meant that the judge would not allow the documentation to be brought into evidence.
The trial had to be moved to the Roybal Federal Building Friday because the Los Angeles federal courthouse on First Street remained closed to the public due to a power outage that began Thursday. The trial will continue at the Roybal Federal Building on Monday.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
