Clase, Ortiz and Vásquez Germosen begin Brooklyn trial over alleged pitch-rigging

Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz and Robinson Vásquez Germosen went on trial in Brooklyn with opening statements on 4 November 2026; all three have pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say Clase provided information about pitches beginning in May 2023 and that Ortiz joined in June 2025, and they put bettors’ winnings at least $460,000. The trial continues after jury selection began on 2 November before Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto.

Formal charges and procedural timeline

A grand jury returned an indictment on 5 November 2025 charging Clase and Ortiz with four counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to influence a sporting contest by bribery, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to court filings. A superseding indictment filed 12 February 2026 preserved those four counts and added Robinson Vásquez Germosen, according to a defense filing.

A fourth defendant, Luis Arismendy Paca Méndez, was charged and arraigned on 20 October; he is not part of the Brooklyn trial that began this week. Luis Ortiz asked for a separate trial, which was denied, according to the Associated Press.

What prosecutors allege

The indictment describes agreements for pitchers to throw slower fastballs and sliders, often on the first pitch of a plate appearance. Prosecutors say bettors placed more than a hundred wagers on pitch velocity and pitch/strike markets with two unnamed sportsbooks in the record. The filing places winnings at least $400,000 on bets tied to Clase’s pitches and $60,000 on two Ortiz pitches in June 2025; in that episode Ortiz is alleged to have accepted about $12,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Urquiola told the jury that bettors gained at least $460,000 and said the pitchers "sold their pitches," according to coverage by ESPN and Fox News.

"Bettors won at least $460,000," AUSA Rebecca Urquiola told the court at the hearing, according to media reports.

Evidence and testimony in the early days

On 4 November Paul Mifsud, senior vice president of Major League Baseball, testified that discussing planned pitches with a bettor would violate the loyalty clause in players’ contracts, according to ESPN. Joel Trella, director of DraftKings’ special investigations unit, described reviewing linked accounts, including one created by Vásquez Germosen.

Former Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor testified for the defense on 5 November. Naylor said that of the 18 plays the prosecution regards as fixed he had caught seven of Clase’s pitches and called low, outer sliders a "weapon" in scouting reports. Under cross-examination Naylor said he did not know you could bet on individual pitches until this case surfaced.

On 6 November bettor Luis de Aza Baez testified that in 2023 he made dozens of bets on Clase’s pitch speeds and that he "almost always" won, according to ESPN. Baez agreed to surrender $69,000 in return for prosecutors dropping a wire-fraud charge.

The defense called Enoc Pena to testify, whom the defense describes as the source who sold the story; the defense argues Pena "saw Clase as a target" and sold a narrative that was not true. The prosecution presents Pena as a cooperating witness; Pena is not expected to testify, according to ESPN.

Todd Spodek, counsel for Vásquez Germosen, said his client made "maybe $3,000," while Clase’s defense, led by Michael Bronson, says Pena was the party who exploited Clase.

Theory of the fraud and sportsbook terms

The wire-fraud charge rests on treating sportsbooks as victims: the indictment says operators’ terms of use forbade wagers based on non-public athlete information. In a motion to dismiss filed in May, Clase argued the charge does not describe a federal crime and "improperly federalizes" a state-law offense. A conviction would test whether sportsbook terms of use can sustain a federal fraud case.

This issue ties to Major League Baseball’s public statement of 10 November 2025, when MLB and its wagering partners set limits on pitch markets: a cap of $200 per pitch bet and exclusion of those markets from parlays. MLB also said those operators represent more than 98% of the U.S. market.

Microbetting market and practical consequences

Prosecutors point to payment as the mechanism of the conspiracy; the defense puts the nature of the pitch market at issue. Bo Naylor framed the same pitches as a competitive strategic choice. That ambiguity is the challenge: a low slider can be a legitimate tactical decision or an influenced pitch, and microbets can spread small payments across multiple accounts to reduce single-account signals.

The trial resumes on 12 November 2026. Whatever the verdict, the caps MLB imposed on 10 November 2025 have already narrowed pitch-bet markets.

"Microbet markets can turn on a single player and be immaterial to the contest outcome," MLB said in its 10 November 2025 statement.