As the Los Angeles Dodgers were beginning their 2024 season in South Korea, Shohei Ohtani and former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara became entangled in an illegal sports gambling scandal.
The Dodgers fired Mizuhara for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts. The two-way superstar maintained he never bet on sports nor agreed to pay off Mizuhara’s debt, and he was cleared in a federal investigation.
Mizuhara reportedly sent money from Ohtani’s bank account to casinos in Las Vegas and Southern California, via Tisha Thompson of ESPN.com:
The series of $500,000 payments Ippei Mizuhara sent from Shohei Ohtani’s bank account to an illegal bookmaking operation were forwarded to California and Las Vegas casinos, where the money was deposited in gambling accounts, converted to playing chips and later cashed out to pay the bookie, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the operation told ESPN.
Mizuhara paid his debts to California bookmaker Matthew Bowyer’s associate, who then converted the funds to chips and gambled with them:
Mathew Bowyer, the California bookmaker who took Mizuhara’s bets, was a frequent customer at Las Vegas casino Resorts World. The sources told ESPN that Mizuhara paid his losses to Bowyer’s associate, who forwarded the money to his own “marker” accounts at Resorts World and Pechanga Resort Casino in Southern California. The men then withdrew chips from the marker account, gambled with them, and if they won, cashed out.
The gambling scheme primarily operated out of Las Vegas casino Resorts World, and 12 people so far have been charged or convicted for their participation:
Multiple sources told ESPN that Resorts World is at the center of what federal authorities described in an affidavit as an investigation into “illegal sports bookmaking organizations operating in Southern California, and the laundering of the proceeds of these operations through casinos in Las Vegas.” Twelve people have been charged or convicted to date, and two Vegas casinos have agreed to pay fines, according to the affidavit. Resorts World was served a federal subpoena last August that sought, among other things, documents related to its anti-money laundering policies.
Mizuhara was formally charged with federal bank fraud last month but has since been released from custody on conditional bond. Bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, but Mizuhara’s sentencing may be shorter as he is reportedly planning to plead guilty.
Mizuhara is reportedly expected to file a guilty plea amid evidence he took measures to ensure Ohtani would not discover the millions that were stolen from him.
Shohei Ohtani ‘thankful’ for Dodgers’ support
After the findings were revealed, Ohtani expressed gratitude to the Dodgers for standing behind him during the investigations into Mizuhara.
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