Orange County man pleads guilty to charges of illegal sports betting involving former Ohtani interpreter

An Orange County man accused of running an illegal sports betting operation whose customers included L.A. Dodger star Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to various gambling-related federal charges. 

Mathew Bowyer, 49, of San Juan Capistrano, admitted to the charges of operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering, and subscribing to a false tax return. 

Bowyer took in unlawful sports bets from then-current and former professional athletes, including Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California.  

Bowyer’s attorney, Diane Bass, said Friday that Mr. Bowyer is “very relieved to finally be able to accept responsibility for his conduct.” She said sentencing could range between 30 to 37 months, based on federal sentencing guidelines.

“He is looking forward to his sentence so that he can put this chapter behind him and so he and his family can get on with their lives,” Bass said.   

Mizuhara pleaded guilty to federal charges on June 4, admitting he stole millions from the Dodgers’ slugger to pay off illegal gambling debts.    

Following a massive investigation that began in March, prosecutors uncovered that the 39-year-old Mizuhara stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay for his gambling. Ohtani claimed that he knew nothing about Mizuhara’s activity and was cleared by federal prosecutors of any potential involvement.   

According to his plea agreement, Bowyer operated an unlicensed and illegal bookmaking business that focused on sports betting and violated California law. Bowyer’s gambling business remained in operation for at least five years until October 2023 and at times had more than 700 bettors.  

He operated his business out of locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties and in Las Vegas. He also used several Costa Rica-based websites and a call center for placing and tracking bets.  

From September 2021 to January 2024, Mizuhara placed at least 19,000 bets with Bowyer’s illegal gambling business through a betting website. During this period, Mizuhara had total winning bets of at least $142 million and total losing bets of at least $182 million, leaving Mizuhara owing approximately $40 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  

Bowyer also admitted in his plea agreement to falsely reporting his taxable income to the IRS on his 2022 tax return. Bowyer reported $607,897 in total income on the return, but his unreported income for that year was over $4 million, he admitted. 

“This has been extremely stressful for Mr. Boyer and his family,” Bass said. “Mr Boyer will be making a statement after sentencing.” She also clarified that Bowyer never had any contact with Ohtani.