Former bookie embroiled in ex-Ohtani interpreter gambling scandal pleads guilty to running illegal sports betting business

By Cindy VonQuednow and Taylor Romine, CNN

(CNN) — The former bookmaker at the center of the gambling scandal involving Dodgers baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has pleaded guilty to operating an illegal sports betting business, the Justice Department says.

Matthew Bowyer, 49, pleaded guilty during a hearing on Friday to federal charges of operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering and subscribing to a false tax return as part of a plea agreement earlier this month, according to US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California Public Information Officer Ciaran McEvoy.

Bowyer faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison on the money laundering count, up to five years in federal prison for the unlawful gambling business count and up to three years in federal prison for the false tax return count, according to the plea agreement.

Bowyer will be sentenced on February 7, 2025, McEvoy said.

CNN has reached out to Bowyer’s attorney for comment.

In June, Ohtani said he had “closure” after his longtime interpreter Mizuhara pleaded guilty to fraud and tax charges for stealing almost $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger to pay off gambling debts. Mizuhara faces up to 30 years in prison for bank fraud and up to three years for filing a false tax return. His sentencing is scheduled for October 25.

Mizuhara was one of Bowyer’s clients, placing at least 19,000 bets with Bowyer’s illegal gambling business from September 2021 to January 2024, according to prosecutors. Bowyer would increase Mizuhara’s betting limits even as Mizuhara had total losing bets of at least $182,935,206, leaving the former interpreter owing about $40,678,436, the plea agreement states.

“From no later than November 2021 to March 2024, Mizuhara used Ohtani’s password to successfully sign into the bank account and then changed the account’s security protocols without Ohtani’s knowledge or permission,” the Justice Department said. “In total, Mizuhara called the bank and impersonated Ohtani on approximately 24 occasions.”

Bowyer’s business was operational for at least five years until last October, and at times had up to 700 bettors, the US Attorney’s Office detailed in a news release. Bowyer operated his business in various locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties, as well as in Las Vegas, and employed casino hosts who were paid a portion of the losses that the bettors incurred and paid, the release said.

Mizuhara began placing sports bets with Bowyer in September 2021 and then pilfered from Ohtani to cover the debts, authorities previously said. The allegations against Mizuhara came to light in March when, after reporting from ESPN and the Los Angeles Times, Ohtani’s lawyers accused Mizuhara of “massive theft” of millions of dollars and placing bets with a bookie under federal investigation.

Both US Attorney Martin Estrada and Major League Baseball have said they considered Ohtani a victim in the case.

Bookie’s business used Costa Rica-based websites for bets

Bowyer’s business used Costa Rica-based websites and a call center so customers and employees could place and track bets, according to the plea agreement. At times, the defendant operated his business while gambling at a casino – identified in court documents as “Casino A” – and sometimes paid his employees in chips, the agreement details.

“From February 2022 to January 2024, Bowyer directed Mizuhara to make payments of at least $16.25 million to Bowyer-controlled bank accounts, all of which were proceeds of Bowyer’s illegal gambling business,” the news release said. Of those proceeds, the defendant then transferred or directed the transfer of at least $9.3 million to a casino as payment for markers for Bowyer and his associates, according to the news release.

Bowyer’s other clients include “Individual B,” a professional baseball player for a Southern California-based baseball team, and “Individual C,” a former minor-league baseball player, the plea agreement states.

In his plea agreement, Bowyer admitted to falsely reporting his taxable income to the IRS on his tax return for 2022. That year, Bowyer reported $607,897 in total income, while his unreported income from his illegal gambling business was $4,030,938, officials said.

Bowyer has agreed to forfeit $257,923 in US currency and $14,830 in casino chips seized by law enforcement last October. He also agreed to fully cooperate with federal prosecutors and investigators.

This story has been updated with additional information

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