Bookie linked to Shohei Ohtani's ex-interpreter to plead guilty in illegal sports betting scandal

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (KABC) -- An Orange County man accused of running the illegal sports-betting operation whose customers included Dodger star Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter has agreed to plead guilty to a trio of federal charges.

Mathew Bowyer, 49, of San Juan Capistrano, is expected to plead guilty next week to charges of operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He's scheduled to enter his plea on Aug. 9 in Santa Ana federal court.

One of Bowyer's clients was Ippei Mizuhara, who stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani to feed what was described as a gambling addiction. Mizuhara pleaded guilty in June to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return.

Investigators said some of Bowyer's other customers included "a professional baseball player for a Southern California-based baseball club" and "a former minor-league baseball player."

Ohtani was cleared of any wrongdoing or involvement in gambling activities, prosecutors said.

According to his plea agreement, Bowyer's gambling business was in operation for at least five years until October 2023 and at times had more than 700 bettors.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said he operated the business out of various locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties as well as in Las Vegas.

Bowyer also employed agents and sub-agents - including casino hosts - who were paid a portion of the losses that bettors incurred and paid, according to investigators.

His businesses used Costa Rica-based websites and a call center so agents and customers could place and track bets. Investigators said at times, Bowyer would work while gambling at a casino and sometimes paid his agents commission in casino chips.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, from September 2021 to January 2024, Mizuhara placed at least 19,000 bets through Bowyer. During this time, Mizuhara had total winning bets of at least $142,256,769, and total losing bets of at least $182,935,206. Investigators said Bowyer would increase Mizuhara's betting limits on a regular basis around this time.

From February 2022 to January 2024, Bowyer told Mizuhara to make payments of at least $16.25 million to Bowyer-controlled bank accounts.

"Of these illegal proceeds, Bowyer transferred or directed the transfer of least $9.3 million to a casino in the form of wire transfers as payment for markers for Bowyer and his associates," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

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

As part of his plea agreement, Bowyer will forfeit $257,923 and $14,830 in casino chips seized last year.

City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.