AGOURA HILLS, CA — An Agoura Hills accountant has pleaded guilty to lying about laundering money from an illegal sport gambling business run by a former minor-league baseball player and involved former Dodger slugger Yasiel Puig, prosecutors said.
William Eric Fulton, 59, faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of making false statements to federal investigators. He’s due back in court for sentencing in November and has agreed to pay a fine of at least $673,290 as part of a plea deal, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Fulton, who works as an accountant in the entertainment industry, provided bookkeeping, accounting and tax preparation services for Wayne Joseph Nix, 46, of Newport Coast, a former minor-league baseball player who ran an illegal bookmaking business for nearly two decades, prosecutors said.
Fulton laundered proceeds from the gambling operation by transferring money between accounts and sending payments to gambling clients who won large bets. He helped Nix obtain bank loans for the business and was paid more than $330,000 in fees for his services over a decade, prosecutors said.
Fulton admitted to providing Nix with personal loans totaling $1.25 million, which helped Nix quickly pay clients. He also placed bets with nix, including three bets that involved one of Fulton’s sports-industry clients, prosecutors said.
During an October 2021 interview, prosecutors said Fulton lied to investigators by claiming he had no knowledge of Nix’s involvement in sports gambling and denying he placed bets with Nix. However, Fulton had known about the business since at least 2011, prosecutors said.
Nix last year pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to operate an illegal sports gambling business and filing a false tax return. He’s set for sentencing in March 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Nix’s partner in the operation, Edon Yoshida Kagasoff, 45, of Lake Forest, pleaded guilty in April 2022 to a charge of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business. He was sentenced earlier this month to six months of probation and a $1,000 fine. He was ordered to forfeit $3.1 million he earned through the operation.
Puig faces charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice in connection with the case. Prosecutors said he initially agreed to plead guilty but later changed his mind. His trial is set to begin in January.
“I want to clear my name,” Puig said in a statement when he changed his plea. “I never should have agreed to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit.”