Mathew Bowyer, Bookie at Center of Ohtani Scandal, to Plead Guilty

The bookie who fielded millions of dollars in bets unknowingly paid for by Shohei Ohtani  agreed to plead guilty to three federal charges Thursday. Mathew Bowyer, who took the action from Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter who robbed Ohtani, admitted to running a longstanding bookmaking operation in the plea agreement. 

Next week, Orange County, Calif.–based Bowyer is set to plead guilty to charges of operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering, and subscribing to a false tax return. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California announced the plea agreement.

Bowyer, 49, was at the center of several eye-popping allegations in the Ohtani case, and had long been on the federal government’s radar as it investigated illegal gambling in California. (The state is one of the few where gambling on sports is still against the law.) 

Mizuhara, using money he eventually admitted to stealing from Ohtani, bet an enormous amount with Bowyer. According to the charges against Mizuhara and Bowyer, the interpreter lost more than $180 million in bets with Bowyer, netting out to more than $40 million in debts to the bookmaker. Mizuhara stole at least $16 million from Ohtani to cover his debts. 

The investigation into Mizuhara and Bowyer turned up voluminous texts between the two men. Earlier this year, according to court documents, Bowyer texted Mizuhara, “Obviously you didn’t steal from him.” Mizuhara responded, “Technically I did steal from him. it’s all over for me.” 

According to the complaint against Mizuhara, Bowyer followed Ohtani around Southern California, texting the interpreter that he saw the Dodgers star with his dog and would approach Ohtani if Mizuhara didn’t answer his texts.

Earlier this year, ESPN reported that Bowyer “allowed people to believe” that Ohtani was his actual client, but an attorney for Bowyer said the two men had never met or interacted.

Bowyer faces heavy prison time, the federal government says. He is staring down up to 10 years on the money laundering charge, five on the gambling operation charge, and three for filing a false tax return. According to the plea agreement, he reported more than $600,000 in income in 2022, but actually made more than $4 million from his betting business. He now owes the feds more than $1.6 million in back taxes.

In May, ESPN reported Bowyer had laundered his gambling profits through casinos in California and Nevada, depositing the money in accounts and then cashing out chips at the casinos.