On Friday, Mathew Bowyer, a bookmaker from Southern California, admitted in federal court to operating an illicit gambling business, handling thousands of sports bets from various clients, including Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter.
Bowyer, 49, entered guilty pleas to charges of illegal gambling, money laundering, and falsifying tax returns in Santa Ana. Sentencing is scheduled for February 7. “I was involved in managing an illegal betting operation and laundering money through third-party bank accounts,” Bowyer told the judge.
Mathew Bowyer admits to running illegal betting ring; sentencing set for February
Federal prosecutors refrained from commenting following the hearing.
Prosecutors revealed that Bowyer’s illegal gambling enterprise operated for at least five years, spanning Southern California and Las Vegas, and engaged over 700 bettors, including Ippei Mizuhara, the ex-interpreter for Ohtani.
Mizuhara previously confessed to committing bank and tax fraud, embezzling nearly $17 million from a bank account linked to Ohtani. Despite Mizuhara’s substantial winnings of over $142 million, which were deposited into his own account, his losses amounted to about $183 million, resulting in a net loss of nearly $41 million.
Investigators found no evidence that Mizuhara bet on baseball, nor was there any indication that Ohtani was aware of or involved in Mizuhara’s gambling activities. Ohtani, who cooperated with investigators, is considered a victim in this case.
Bowyer’s clientele also included a professional baseball player from Southern California and a former minor leaguer, though neither was named in court documents. This case is part of a series of sports betting scandals this year, including one leading to Major League Baseball’s lifetime ban of player Tucupita Marcano for betting on baseball.
This marks the first-lifetime ban since Pete Rose’s in 1989. MLB’s policy strictly forbids players and team personnel from betting on baseball or other sports through illegal or offshore bookmakers, with penalties decided by the commissioner’s office.
