An Orange County man accused of running an illegal sports betting operation that included former interpreter for LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani as a client pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to several federal gambling-related charges.
Mathew Bowyer, 49, of San Juan Capistrano, pleaded guilty to charges of operating an illegal gambling enterprise, money laundering and signing a false tax return.
Bowyer accepted illegal sports bets from 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 behavior.” She said the sentence could range from 30 to 37 months, based on federal sentencing guidelines.
“He looks forward to his sentence so he can put this chapter behind him and move forward with his family,” Bass said.
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Mizuhara pleaded guilty to federal charges on June 4, in which he admitted stealing millions from the Dodgers player to pay off illegal gambling debts.
Next a large-scale investigation that began in Marchprosecutors discovered that 39-year-old Mizuhara stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani to fund his gambling. Ohtani claimed he knew nothing about Mizuhara’s activities and was cleared by federal prosecutors of any possible involvement.
According to his plea agreement, Bowyer operated an unlicensed and illegal sports betting business in violation of California law. Bowyer’s gambling business remained in operation for at least five years until October 2023 and at times had more than 700 gamblers.
He operated his business from locations in Los Angeles and Orange County, and in Las Vegas. He also used several websites in Costa Rica and a call center to place and track 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 that period, Mizuhara had total winning bets of at least $142 million and total losing bets of at least $182 million, leaving Mizuhara owed approximately $40 million, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Bowyer also admitted in his plea agreement that he misreported 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 more than $4 million, he admitted.
“This has been extremely stressful for Mr. Boyer and his family,” Bass said. “Mr. Boyer will make a statement following the sentencing.” She also clarified that Bowyer has never had any contact with Ohtani.
