New details are emerging over the millions allegedly stolen by former Dodgers interpreter Ippei Mizuhara from superstar Shohei Ohtani and where the money went after it was wired to an alleged California bookmaker.
A new ESPN report indicated that a series of $500,000 payments that were allegedly stolen from Ohtani’s bank account were then sent to gambling accounts associated with casinos in California and Las Vegas, where they were converted to chips and eventually cashed out in order to pay Mathew Bowyer, the alleged bookmaker.
Bowyer associates are said to have frequented Resorts World Casino in Las Vegas and Pechanga Resort Casino in Southern California as part of the operation, and Bowyer reportedly lost $7.9 million over the course of a year while betting at Resorts World.
After Bowyer’s home was raided by federal authorities in October, he was labeled as a known bookmaker and banned from casinos across the United States, according to the ESPN report.
Mizuhara’s gambling and alleged theft came to light at the start of the MLB season in South Korea in March after reporters started looking into why Ohtani’s name had come up during a federal probe into Bowyer’s operation.
Authorities alleged Mizuhara stole $16 million from Ohtani and that Mizuhara gambling’s debt was more than $40 million after placing approximately 19,000 wagers.
Mizuhara turned himself into authorities in April and was released on a $25,000 bond.
He is facing up to 30 years in prison on federal bank fraud charges.
Authorities have labeled Ohtani as a victim in the whole situation.
“The investigation is currently still going on, so I can’t really say much about that,” Ohtani told reporters last week in Washington, D.C, according to The Athletic. “But it made me really realize how supportive the teammates, the organization, the staff have been towards me. It’s just allowed me to really reflect on how grateful I am to be surrounded by them.”
Ohtani has appeared in 31 games for the Dodgers, with whom he signed a massive 10-year, $700 million contract in December.
Ohtani was hitting .341/.406/.635 while adding seven home runs, 19 RBIs and five stolen bases heading into Tuesday night’s play.