The convicted bookie who took roughly $300 million in wagers from Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is admittedly in the dark about the Los Angeles Dodgers star’s involvement in the scandal.
Neither federal investigators nor Major League Baseball found any evidence that Ohtani placed any wagers. For that matter, convicted interpreter Ippei Mizuhara never bet on baseball, thereby giving the feds and MLB even less cause to suspect Ohtani of wrongdoing.
What’s more, Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud after being caught stealing nearly $17 million from a bank account belonging to Ohtani during the two-way star’s time with the Los Angeles Angels. And for what it’s worth, Ohtani has denied any involvement in the illegal gambling operation, while his attorneys have described him as the ‘victim of a massive theft.’
But to Matthew Bowyer, the former bookmaker who faces up to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty in the case, Ohtani’s involvement remains a bit of a mystery.
‘I know the whole world wants to know,’ Bowyer told USA Today, ‘but to this day, I truly don’t know. They are the only two people in the world who really know the truth, Shohei and Ippei.
‘I truly believe that Shohei doesn’t gamble, but I think he knew some area of demise with Ippei, just maybe not to that extent.’
Shohei Ohtani (left) was the victim of Mizuhara’s fraud, according to Major League Baseball
Bowyer, left, a Southern California bookmaker, arrives with his attorney, Diane Bass in August
Bowyer is far from certain. He used very cautious language when speaking to USA Today, while simultaneously wondering how Ohtani could have been ignorant as $17 million disappeared from his bank account.
‘It’s definitely possible Ohtani didn’t know anything, but plausible is a different answer,’ Bowyer said. ‘I gambled bigger than most. I hid my emotions better than most. But you can only hide so much when you’re in serious turmoil. And clearly, he was in serious turmoil.
‘If this is true that Ippei was the guy, and gambling all by himself the whole time, I don’t know how you could hide that from your best friend, someone you were with almost 24 hours a day? They were inseparable.
‘And if you really could hide that from his best friend for so long – then how could Shohei Ohtani not see $17 million gone from his account?’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Ohtani’s agent and his attorneys for comment.
Ippei Mizuhara was sentenced to 57 months in a California prison over fraud charges
Mizuhara was sentenced to 57 months in a California prison after pleading guilty to bank and tax fraud.
Although Mizuhara moved from the Angels to the Dodgers when Ohtani signed his record $700 million free-agent deal before the 2024 season, he was quickly fired in early 2024 as his deception was revealed.
Federal investigators believe Mizuhara won $142 million across 19,000 wagers between September of 2021 and January of 2024. However, those winnings were deposited into his own account, while Mizuhara used Ohtani’s to cover his losses, which totaled around $183 million – a difference of $41 million.
Mizuhara worked with several bookmakers and actually impersonated Ohtani in calls to Dodgers star’s bank, as revealed by the federal probe.
Investigators did not find any evidence Mizuhara wagered on baseball, nor could they prove that Ohtani was even aware of the theft, much less the gambling.
Bowyer never directly asked Mizuhara if he was actually placing the bets for Ohtani, largely because he didn’t want to know the answer.
‘I never had a discussion with Ippei directly on who’s making the bets,’ Bowyer told USA Today. ‘People ask me all of the time, ”Why wouldn’t you?” I say, ”Why would I?”
‘It’s not my business to pry into their business. How are they getting the money? Who’s betting for who? There comes a point where you don’t want the answer, and I was afraid of the truth.’
Ippei Mizuhara is facing almost five years in prison for stealing close to $17m from Ohtani
However, Bowyer gave a different impression in February, when he told the New York Post he could tell that the translator was going rogue.
‘It was very obvious after some time he was stealing money and not asking Ohtani for permission,’ Bowyer told The Post, adding that Mizuhara wired him $500,000 every two weeks at one point.
‘He never acted as if the dollar amounts impacted him for one second. He was so polite and so respectful,’ Bowyer said.
At one point Bowyer did ask Mizuhara about his mounting losses.
‘I asked him if he was OK,’ Bowyer said. ‘He said, ”I’m just terrible at this.” I would try to control him a little bit.’
‘I truly believe he had a massive gambling addiction problem.’
Major League Baseball came to the same conclusion as Bowyer, saying Ohtani is ‘a victim of fraud’ before closing the matter.
Despite Mizuhara’s problem, Bowyer admits he had trouble cutting him off because the bookmaking operation was so successful.
‘I was driving my Rolls [Royce] and Lamborghini,’ Bowyer said, while admitting to his own gambling problems.
‘Now, I feel guilty because I feel I was part of it,’ Bowyer told the Post.
Pete Rose went from managing his hometown Reds in 1989 to a lifetime ban from baseball
Bowyer also placed bets for the late Pete Rose, albeit long after the 1989 scandal that resulted in his permanent ban from baseball.
Rose admitted to gambling on Cincinnati Reds games while managing the team, although he insisted he never bet on his hometown club to lose. Critics have insisted that point is irrelevant because Rose’s gambling undermined fans’ trust in the outcome of games.
But Rose’s gambling problem didn’t end with his lifetime ban from baseball. Two decades before his death last year, baseball’s all-time hit king was averaging $1,000 wagers per game with Bowyer.
Ultimately Bowyer was forced to cut Rose off due to his worsening habit.
‘Rose just loved the action,’ Bowyer said. ‘He was absolutely compulsive. No question.
‘I wasn’t an angel but I wanted to keep my customer from blowing his brains out,’ Bowyer added.
These days Bowyer is banned from casinos and currently works for an AstroTurf company, according to the Post.
He is currently in the process of self-publishing a memoir that will be released sometime after his sentencing on Friday.
