Mathew Bowyer, a bookie for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was sentenced on Friday at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Santa Ana, Calif., to 12 months and one day in prison.
U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb sentenced the 50-year-old resident of Orange County a year after Bowyer pleaded guilty to charges for operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering and subscribing to a false tax return. Bowyer negotiated a plea deal that required him to disclose client and customer information to federal authorities and provide other assistance.
As described by the Department of Justice, Bowyer ran a “large sports gambling business” for at least five years. His operation produced gross revenues “well over” $2,000 a day and involved more than 700 bettors. Mizuhara was a client and placed at least 19,000 bets with Bowyer, who has acknowledged he knew Mizuhara “had a massive gambling addiction problem.”
Bowyer kept “numerous bank accounts” to receive illicit proceeds. He also “significantly underreported” his income in 2022, saying it was $607,000 when it was $4.03 million.
Although prosecutors concede that sports betting is legal in nearly 40 states, that’s a fact without relevant significance. Bowyer “chose to run his business” in California—where sports betting is illegal—and then “engaged in conduct designed to conceal what he was doing.”
Prosecutors also criticized him for living an “extravagant lifestyle” while “raking in millions of dollars” through illicit activities.
The maximum punishment for Bowyer’s crimes was 18 years in prison, but prosecutors and a probation officer recommended a “low-end custodial sentence” of 15 months. This time frame reflected Bowyer’s “substantial assistance to the government,” his lack of criminal history, his acceptance of responsibility and “personal and mitigating circumstances,” but also “the seriousness and multi-faceted nature of his conduct and need for specific and general deterrence.”
Bowyer’s attorney, Diane C. Bass, argued in a recent court filing that her client should be sentenced to home confinement and community service. Bass emphasized that Bowyer “is a gambling addict” who “lost millions of dollars gambling at casinos.” Bowyer is described as turning to illegal bookmaking as a result of his addiction.
In addition, Bass wrote that Bowyer “has faced his demons,” attended therapy and advised others with gambling issues to not follow his path. Bass further noted her client has done 100 hours of community service and is the father of five children, the youngest of whom is 4 years old. Bowyer also paid restitution of $1.6 million.
In February, Holcomb sentenced Mizuhara to 57 months in prison for bank fraud and filing a false tax return. Mizuhara, who manipulated Ohtani’s bank records and illegally used Ohtani’s credit cards, was also ordered to pay nearly $17 million in restitution to Ohtani. Mizuhara’s sentence tracked the length of incarceration sought by prosecutors. Mizuhara, in contrast, had asked for a sentence of 18 months, partly on grounds he suffers from a gambling addiction and depression.
