Yasiel Puig, a former Major League Baseball superstar who is facing federal charges in association with an illegitimate sports betting investigation, has enlisted the services of a prominent attorney for his legal team. On Saturday, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump spoke at a press conference close to the federal courthouse in Los Angeles concerning Puig’s case, which entails allegations of lying to investigators and obstructing justice. Crump is renowned for representing the families of Tyre Nichols, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Aubrey, and Trayvon Martin.
When federal prosecutors disclosed a plea agreement with Puig in November, they stated that he had admitted to deceiving investigators when questioned about betting on sports with a former minor league ballplayer who had created his own gambling ring. However, shortly before the hearing was due to take place, Puig’s sports agent, Lisette Carnet, revealed new evidence that caused him to withdraw from the agreement.
At the press conference, Crump reproached prosecutors for creating a media spectacle around Puig’s case despite his lack of involvement in the scheme. He declared that the six individuals who had established the wagering ring had been charged; however, Puig had received an excessive degree of attention from the US Attorney’s office in comparison to the perpetrators of the offense.
On Friday, Keri Axel, another lawyer representing Puig, filed a motion to compel the US Attorney’s office to supply information that Puig’s team had requested, such as interview records from the past five years by the assigned investigators from the Department of Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service who questioned Puig in the case. Furthermore, the motion also pointed out that agents investigating the sports betting ring treated White suspects far more leniently than the Black athletes that were also questioned in the investigation.
It was determined that Puig had placed wagers through people connected to Wayne Nix, a former minor league player who ran a sports betting ring out of Costa Rica. Nix pleaded guilty to his involvement last summer. Allegedly, Puig had lost $283,000 within the first month of betting with Nix and he had since paid off the debt by $200,000, making near 900 bets on basketball, football, and tennis matches.
Axel and Carnet have argued that Puig, who was born in Cuba and has a third-grade education, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and post-
