Professional poker player Damien Leforbes has pleaded guilty in federal court to running an illegal sports betting operation and money laundering, according to Matt Rybaltowski of SportsHandle.
Leforbes is alleged to have been one of the co-conspirators in the illegal gambling ring involving Matt Bowyer and Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Bowyer allegedly accepted millions of dollars in bets from Mizuhara.
Bowyer and Leforbes have been under investigation by federal authorities for the operation of an illegal sportsbook.
Over an 11-month period through Dec. 15, 2023, Leforbes wagered more than $148 million at a venue identified in court filings as "Casino A." Leforbes also used various cryptocurrency wallets to receive proceeds from his business and to pay bettors whom he owed money, according to the complaint. When the defendant needed to transfer cryptocurrency, he avoided public exchanges to conceal his activities, prosecutors stated.
LeForbes also racked up over $12 million in gambling losses at Resorts World in Las Vegas, according to the Nevada Current.
"A casino record obtained by the Current reveals Resorts World turned over a bad check for $2.5 million from Leforbes to the Clark County District Attorney for prosecution," according to the report.
Bowyer pleaded guilty in California court to operating an illegal sports betting operation three weeks ago. According to his plea agreement, Bowyer operated an unlicensed and illegal bookmaking business that focused on sports betting and violated a California law that prohibits bookmaking.
Bowyer allegedly operated in illegal sportsbook in California for five years up until October 2023. He had more than 700 bettors.
Leforbes has been connected to Bowyer as the two were under investigation at the same time and both allegedly racked up gambling losses at Resorts World.
