Bookie at center of Ohtani gambling theft to plead guilty

The San Juan Capistrano bookie who took bets from Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani's interpreter has agreed to plead guilty to multiple federal charges.

Mathew R. Bowyer, 49, of San Juan Capistrano, will plead guilty on Aug. 9 to charges of operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering and subscribing to a false tax return, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

He faces a maximum sentence of 18 years: 10 for money laundering, five for the gambling business and three for the false tax return. He also will forfeit nearly $258,000 in cash and $15,000 in casino chips seized by law enforcement.

Perhaps Bowyer's most famous client was Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani's former interpreter who admitted to stealing nearly $17 million from the Dodger to pay off gambling debts. He's scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25.

But Mizuhara wasn't alone, prosecutors say. Bowyer ran his bookmaking operation in Los Angeles and Orange counties and in Las Vegas, including while at a casino, for at least five years and at times served more than 700 bettors.

While Ohtani is considered a victim in this case, at least two other baseball players placed bets with Bowyer, prosecutors say. One plays for "a Southern California-based baseball club," and the other is a former minor-league player.