Guilty plea set for man accused in smuggling of Dodgers’ Puig

Oct 6, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) rounds second base after hitting a triple during the sixth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the 2014 NLDS baseball playoff game at Busch Stadium. (Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports)

MIAMI — A guilty plea is scheduled for a South Florida businessman accused of helping to finance the smuggling of Los Angeles Dodgers star Yasiel Puig out of Cuba.

U.S. District Judge Robert Scola set a Tuesday plea change hearing for 40-year-old Gilberto Suarez, who had previously pleaded not guilty to an alien smuggling conspiracy charge. The charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

Investigators say Suarez was one of the Miami-based financiers of the 2012 smuggling venture in which Puig was taken by boat from Cuba to Mexico. The financiers were to receive a cut of the seven-year, $42 million contract Puig later signed with the Dodgers.

Prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of any money Suarez got from Puig’s contract, in addition to a house, a condominium, a Porsche and a Mercedes-Benz.