Shohei Ohtani’s Ex-Translator Ippei Mizuhara’s Bookie Admits Being “Remorseful” After Getting 1-Year Prison Sentence in Betting Scandal

Ippei Mizuhara's bookie, Matthew Bowyer was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Friday for illegal gambling business, money laundering, and filing a false tax return.

Shohei Ohtani’s Ex-Translator Ippei Mizuhara’s Bookie Admits Being “Remorseful” After Getting 1-Year Prison Sentence in Betting Scandal

Ippei Mizuhara and Shohei Ohtani (Image via Imago)

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Shohei Ohtani‘s ex-translator, Ippei Mizuhara‘s bookie, Matthew Bowyer, on Friday was sentenced to a 1-year in prison for illegal gambling business, money laundering, and filing a false tax return. He would later tell the court that he was “remorseful” for his actions. Bowyer’s name came into the spotlight after the betting scandal involving Mizuhara broke out.

Following the start of the 2024 season, the former translator of Ohtani was charged with massive theft. During the investigation, it was revealed that Mizuhara was withdrawing money from the account of the two-way baseball star and placing bets on sports through a bookmaker, Matthew Bowyer. Mizuhara was charged with theft of $17 million and was sentenced to 57 months in prison earlier this year after he pleaded guilty to his actions.

Bowyer, who also pleaded guilty, would receive a 12-month sentence from the court and was ordered to pay $1.6 million to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in restitution. Before receiving his sentence, Bowyer admitted that he had made some “poor choices” in his life.

The bottom line is, I am remorseful. I have made many poor choices in my life.

Matthew Bowyer told the court

While Bowyer believes that Ohtani was aware of Mizuhara’s gambling, he expressed that he does not believe the Los Angeles Dodgers star bet on sports himself. In an interview with NBC 4 News, the 50-year-old claimed that the bets were made while he watched him play live for the Los Angeles Angels.

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.

Matthew Bowyer said

Mizuhara had been in touch with Ohtani since 2013. After the two-way star made his way to the United States, he would travel with him and become his interpreter when Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2018.

Matthew Bowyer opens up about his relationship with Ippei Mizuhara

California-based bookmaker Matthew Bowyer found his name trending on social media in 2024 after Ippei Mizuhara was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a recent interview with ESPN, he recalled the first moment he received a wire transfer under the name of Shohei Ohtani, which left him stunned and opened up about his relationship with Mizuhara.

Ippei Mizuhara and Shohei Ohtani
Ippei Mizuhara and Shohei Ohtani (Image via Imago)

During the interview, Bowyer pointed out that Mizuhara would gamble money on soccer games. Despite losing many times, he would plead with him to increase his limit.

The gentleman that received the wire transfer said, are you sitting down? And I said, yeah. He said, well, I just received $500,000 worth of wire. I said, OK, thank you. That’s great. He said, it’s Shohei Ohtani is the name on the account and I just went, what the f***? I was like, wow. That’s when I said, holy s***. You know, this is good and bad, right? I mean, my first instinct is great. I just got paid. My next instinct is, this could be a problem for me.

Matthew Bowyer said

In the same interview, Bowyer expressed that he had never met, communicated or contacted Shohei Ohtani in any way. He also claimed that his relationship with Ippei Mizuhara was a “one-way street” because the ex-interpreter just kept on losing.

Mizuhara would shockingly impersonate Ohtani on phone calls and wire huge amounts of money from his account. In evidence released by the Department of Justice, the 40-year-old could be heard impersonating the Dodgers star to wire a transfer of $200,000 on the pretext of a car loan.

He is currently incarcerated in a Federal Prison in Pennsylvania. Once his sentence is complete, he will be deported back to Japan.

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