"Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been charged with taking bribes from sports bettors to intentionally throw certain types of pitches, including tossing balls instead of strikes to ensure successful bets. According to an indictment unsealed Sunday in federal court in Brooklyn, Clase and Ortiz helped bettors from their native Dominican Republic win in-game prop bets on pitch speed and outcome by throwing certain pitches slower and down in the dirt, well out of the strike zone."
"Both pitchers have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July while Major League Baseball investigated what it said was unusually high in-game betting activity when they pitched. Ortiz, 26, was arrested by the FBI on Sunday at Boston Logan International Airport. He is expected to appear in federal court in Boston on Monday. Clase, 27, is not yet in custody, authorities said."
"Clase and Ortiz are both charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy. The top charges carry a potential punishment of up to 20 years in prison in the event of a conviction. The charges against Clase and Ortiz are the latest bombshell developments in a federal crackdown on betting in professional sports."
Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz of the Cleveland Guardians were charged with accepting bribes from sports bettors to deliberately throw certain pitches, including tossing balls instead of strikes and throwing slower, down-in-the-dirt pitches to affect prop bets. An indictment says bettors from their native Dominican Republic benefited from in-game prop bets on pitch speed and outcome. Both pitchers have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July while Major League Baseball investigated unusually high in-game betting activity when they pitched. Ortiz was arrested by the FBI at Boston Logan; Clase is not yet in custody. Both face federal charges carrying up to 20 years.
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