Matthew Bowyer (49), the bookie of the illegal gambling ring in which Mizuhara Ippei (39), an interpreter for Shohei Ohtani (30) of the Los Angeles Dodgers, participated, appeared in the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California on the 9th and pleaded guilty to operating an illegal gambling ring and money laundering. He had reached a plea agreement with the U.S. District Attorney’s Office. Sentencing is scheduled for February 7th next year.

According to U.S. media, the maximum sentence is 18 years in prison. The district prosecutor’s office will propose a reduction in the sentence based on a plea bargain.

According to the district attorney’s office, Bowyer operated illegal sports betting in California for at least five years until October 2023, and had more than 700 customers in the state and elsewhere. Mizuhara made about 19,000 bets over two years, resulting in losses of about $40 million (about 5.8 billion yen).

Mizuhara has admitted to charges including bank fraud, alleging that he stole approximately 16.59 million dollars from Ohtani’s bank account to repay illegal gambling debts and sent it to Bowyer, and will be sentenced on October 25th. (Kyodo News)