Bookie who took wagers from Ohtani’s interpreter agrees to plea deal

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Mathew Bowyer, the bookie who took wagers involving millions of dollars stolen from Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, agreed to plead guilty to federal charges, prosecutors announced Thursday.

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Prosecutors said Bowyer, from Orange County, Calif., operated a sprawling illegal gambling business for at least five years, taking wagers from more than 700 bettors. Only one of those clients caused Bowyer’s operation to be thrust into national headlines this past spring: Ohtani’s longtime interpreter and friend Ippei Mizuhara. Prosecutors said Mizuhara placed about 19,000 bets worth nearly $17 million, all of it stolen from Ohtani’s bank account without Ohtani’s knowledge.

Bowyer agreed to plead guilty to operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering and subscribing to a false tax return. According to prosecutors, who said he is expected to plead guilty in federal court in Los Angeles on Aug. 9, he faces up to 10 years in prison on the money laundering count alone. Bowyer’s attorney, Diane Bass, said that her client “is looking forward to accepting responsibility for his actions.”

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The news that Ohtani’s name was on records tied to illegal betting sparked one of the most dramatic sports betting scandals in decades, casting scrutiny on the potential involvement of baseball’s biggest global superstar, who had recently signed a $700 million deal with the Dodgers. But federal prosecutors declared Ohtani a victim, stating that their investigation found he knew nothing about the theft from his account or Mizuhara’s illegal wagering. Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank fraud in June.

Criminal charges against Bowyer have been widely anticipated since the news of the betting scandal involving Mizuhara broke during the opening series of the baseball season in late March. In the plea agreement filed in court Thursday, Bowyer pledged to “cooperate fully” with federal investigators and to forfeit nearly $258,000 in cash and nearly $14,830 in casino chips already seized during a raid on his house.

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In addition, Bowyer agreed to pay more than $1.6 million owed to the IRS. The back taxes stem from unreported illegal income in 2022, when Bowyer declared he earned $607,897. Bowyer admitted he actually earned about $4.6 million through his bookie operation that utilized Costa Rica-based websites and a call center.

The sprawling federal investigation that led to criminal charges against Bowyer has also focused on Las Vegas casino employees who welcomed the action of high roller Bowyer and other known illegal bookies, trampling anti-money laundering policies in the process. Bowyer’s plea agreement suggests his illegal gambling business was an open secret at a Las Vegas casino referred to in court records only as “Casino A.”

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In the agreement, Bowyer admitted that at least two hosts at the casino referred four clients to his illegal business. He said he openly ran his bookie business while at high-limit salons in the casino, “adjust[ing] credit lines and discuss[ing] payments and bets with clients” while gambling, and staff would even stop play at his table so he could conduct his bookie business. Bowyer said he received payments from his clients, in the form of cash or casino chips in envelopes or bags, while gambling, and at times paid off agents of his organization with chips from the casino.

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Prosecutors claimed Bowyer transferred $9.3 million of his illegal bookie proceeds to the casino to pay off “markers” – meaning loans for gambling – for him and associates, known to casino employees as the “Bowyer Group.” Bowyer also acknowledged transferring another $9 million in illegal proceeds to an unnamed Southern California casino.

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In his plea agreement, Bowyer also appeared to make reference to former Los Angeles Angels infielder David Fletcher – who has been under investigation by MLB since ESPN reported he had placed bets with Bowyer – and a former minor league baseball player named Colby Schultz.

Without naming either player, the plea agreement suggests Fletcher, “a professional baseball player for a Southern California-based baseball club,” wagered on basketball, football and hockey. The agreement appears to refer to Schultz – a “former minor league baseball player” who was “close friends” with the first baseball player – betting on multiple sports, including baseball games in which Fletcher was playing.

Schultz’s attorney, Darrell P. White, said that Schultz “was not involved” with Mizuhara or Bowyer, and is not believed to be “the target of any investigation.” An MLB spokesperson said the investigation into Fletcher’s wagering is ongoing.

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Bowyer’s house in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. was raided by federal authorities in October. But court records show that didn’t stop Bowyer from continuing to pursue Mizuhara for more of Ohtani’s millions, according to references to the bookie in the complaint against Mizuhara.

In November – a month after his home was raided – Bowyer texted Mizuhara that he was watching Ohtani walk his dog in Newport Beach, Calif., and threatened to confront him about the gambling losses, prosecutors alleged.

Bowyer’s plea agreement does not address whether he knew the millions wagered by Mizuhara were stolen.

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