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Matthew Bowyer, the bookie linked to Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, believes the Los Angeles Dodgers star knew about the illegal gambling that was taking place with his money. Bowyer made this and other revelations in an interview this week as he awaited his sentencing on Friday.
While he says he never met Ohtani, Bowyer said on the VSiN show A Numbers Game, “I do believe that Shohei Ohtani was aware of Ippei’s either gambling or borrowing money or using some of his funds.”
Bowyer added, “To what extent and how long, that part is really up in the air. But my belief is that [Mizuhara] did get approval or ask for permission or even had [Ohtani] send money initially.”
Bowyer never questioned where the money came from
During an interview with NBC 4 News this week, Matthew Bowyer was asked if he ever questioned whether the money was actually Ippei Mizuhara’s.
“If you have a gentleman that’s paying you $500,000 every two weeks and seems to be very happy with the service and you’re making a lot of money and everyone seems very happy, I don’t need to know where he’s getting his money,” said Bowyer. “That’s not my business.”
Ippei Mizuhara won over $142 million gambling with Shohei Ohtani’s money, but he also lost around $183 million. Yet, while Matthew Bowyer believes Shohei Ohtani knew about Mizuhara’s gambling, he says he doesn’t think the multi-time MVP actually placed any of the bets himself.
“I do believe firmly Shohei did not make any sports bet or any wagers because I’ve been at Angels Stadium (and) he was actually playing baseball when bets were being made,” said Bowyer.
He will now serve time in prison
On Friday, the 50-year-old Bowyer, who pleaded guilty a year ago to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison. Once released, he will be subject to two years of supervised release. His lawyer said that he has already paid the $1.6 million in restitution that he owed to the Internal Revenue Service.
“The bottom line is, I am remorseful. I have made many poor choices in my life,” Bowyer told the court before receiving his sentence.