Lawyers representing Yasiel Puig claim federal prosecutors are demonstrating racial bias in their pursuit of charges against the former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder in a sports gambling investigation.
Puig, 32, faces two federal counts of making false statements and obstructing justice, which could carry up to 10 years in prison.
In a federal court filing, civil right attorney Ben Crump claims the government has treated Black witnesses differently from non-Blacks in this case.
“The government has charged (Puig) with what they claim are false statements and obstruction resulting from a single interview, when others who were actually involved in the gambling ring – who lied and destroyed evidence – were not so charged,” Crump said in a statement Monday. “Yasiel Puig was just a witness, and he was charged, reprimanded, and made an example of more than the non-Black men who were the actual targets of investigation.”
Puig’s attorneys are asking a judge to order federal prosecutors to turn over five years’ worth of records from the gambling probe.
In an August 2022 plea agreement, Puig acknowledged that he racked up more than $280,000 in losses while wagering on tennis, football and basketball games through a third party who worked for an illegal gambling operation run by Wayne Nix, a former minor league baseball player.
He later withdrew the plea. The DOJ has not alleged that Puig betted on baseball.
Nix pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to operate an illegal sports gambling business and filing a false tax return. Prosecutors said Nix’s operation ran for two decades and included both current and former professional athletes as clients or employees.
In November, federal prosecutors announced that another former MLB player, Erik Kristian Hiljus, 49, of Los Angeles, had agreed to plead guilty to two counts of subscribing to false tax returns.
They said Hiljus was an agent for Nix’s operation.
Puig, whose full name is Yasiel Puig Valdés, played six seasons for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2013-2018) and was an All Star in 2014. His career has also included stints with the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians and Kiwoom Heroes of South Korea’s KBO League.
He is currently a free agent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.