Mathew Bowyer, the bookie at the center of the Ippei Mizuhara gambling scandal, recently spoke out about the former interpreter’s behavior. In a new episode of the podcast series The Betrayal of Shohei Ohtani, Bowyer stated that Mizuhara showed signs of severe problem gambling within a month of placing bets with him. Bowyer described Mizuhara's betting activity as bananas and noted that he was consistently placing high-risk wagers in an attempt to recover his losses.
Mizuhara admitted to stealing nearly 17 million dollars from Shohei Ohtani to pay off his mounting debts to Bowyer. He is currently serving a 57-month prison sentence for bank fraud and filing false tax returns. Bowyer himself served seven months of a yearlong sentence after pleading guilty to money laundering and operating an illegal gambling business.
While Mizuhara’s defense focused on his gambling addiction, others involved in the case have offered a different perspective. E. Martín Estrada, the former U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, noted that he does not believe the gambling addiction explains the full scope of Mizuhara’s actions. Estrada suggested that Mizuhara viewed his position as an opportunity to enrich himself at Ohtani's expense.
Federal investigators uncovered widespread issues regarding how casinos handled Bowyer’s funds. State regulators discovered that Bowyer laundered millions of dollars through various Nevada casinos. These properties failed to adequately verify his source of income as required by federal law. As a result, several major casino operators have reached settlements, paying tens of millions of dollars in fines for their failure to prevent illegal financial activity. Bowyer is now permanently barred from entering any Nevada casino.