Bookmaker to plead guilty in gambling case tied to baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter

Bowyer’s attorney, Diane Bass, did not immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment Thursday. Bass said in March that she’d been working with federal prosecutors to resolve her client’s case and confirmed an October raid at his home. Bass told The Associated Press that Mizuhara was placing bets with Bowyer on international soccer but not baseball.

Operating an unlicensed betting business is a federal crime. Meanwhile, sports gambling is illegal in California, even as 38 states and the District of Columbia allow some form of it.

“Mr. Bowyer never had any contact with Shohei Ohtani, in person, on the phone, in any way,” Bass told the AP in March. “The only person he had contact with was Ippei.”

Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani’s bank account.

Federal investigators say Mizuhara made about 19,000 wagers between September 2021 and January 2024. While Mizuhara’s winnings totaled over $142 million, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani’s, his losing bets were around $183 million — a net loss of nearly $41 million.

Still, investigators did not find any evidence Mizuhara had wagered on baseball. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

Prosecutors said there also was no evidence Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara’s gambling, and the player is considered a victim and cooperated with investigators.

Federal prosecutors said Bowyer’s other customers included a professional baseball player for a Southern California club and a former minor league player. Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office, declined to name either of the alleged bettors or say whether they faced criminal charges.

Last May, the AP reported MLB was expected to investigate former Los Angeles Angels player David Fletcher for gambling on sports through Bowyer. The information came from a person familiar with the situation who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they weren’t at liberty to discuss such impending matters.

MLB didn’t immediately respond Thursday to a query about whether the Fletcher investigation had been launched. Fletcher and Ohtani were teammates on the Angels for six years. Ohtani now plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Separately, the league in June banned San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for life and suspended four others for betting on baseball legally. Marcano became the first active player in a century banned for life because of gambling.

Rose agreed to his ban in 1989 after an investigation found that he’d placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the team.

The league’s gambling policy prohibits players and team employees from wagering on baseball, even legally. MLB also bans betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers. The penalty is determined at the discretion of the commissioner’s office.

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Associated Press writers Joe Reedy and Amy Taxin contributed to this report.

Stefanie Dazio, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Bookmaker to plead guilty in gambling case tied to baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter

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