Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara have been all over the news as they have become embroiled in a gambling scandal.
According to multiple reports, money from Ohtani’s accounts were used to pay Mizuhara’s gambling debts that totaled more than $4.5 million.
Mizuhara placed sports wagers through a bookie in Southern California named Mathew Bowyer. There has not been much information released about Bowyer as he is currently under investigation by the IRS and possibly other authorities.
So who is the man who allegedly ran an illegal book that Mizuhara lost $4.5 million to?
Bowyer is a 48-year-old man who lives in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Mizuhara told ESPN that he had met Bowyer at a poker game in San Diego in 2021. Atlanta Braves infielder David Fletcher, who was friends with Ohtani and presumably Mizuhara when he was with the Angels, said he was present at the poker game but did not introduce Mizuhara and Bowyer.
“The most important thing I want people to know is Mr. Bowyer never met Shohei,” Diane Bass, Bowyer’s attorney confirmed to NBC Los Angeles. “The only person he dealt with was Ippei.”
Federal authorities raided Bowyer in October of 2023 with a search warrant, taking his phone, laptops and other electronic devices.
According to reports, money was wired to Bowyer from Ohtani's account in payments of $500,000 in totaling $4.5 million.
Bowyer had been known to Las Vegas casinos as he racked up $425,000 in gambling losses and filed for bankruptcy in 2011.
The illegal sportsbook had regular offerings — Mizuhara bet on soccer and other sports but never baseball, according to Bowyer's attorney.
The Washington Post described Bowyer as a divorced father of four with a failed exterminator business. He accrued millions of dollars in gambling losses and was sued by multiple casinos for not paying back his gambling losses, per the Post.
The Post also reported Bowyer's California address was sent a package from a suspected offshore bookie containing $108,000 in cash. Nobody was convicted and Bowyer's name was not listed in court records.
Bowyer's name was also brought up in the investigation of Wayne Nix, a former high-end bookie in Orange County and ex-minor league baseball player. Nix had booked for A-list sports celebrities such as Scottie Pippen, Maverick Carter and Yasiel Puig.
