Sports bookmaker with ties to Resorts World Las Vegas receives one-year sentence; former interpreter of Japanese baseball star Ohtani is the subject of the conviction.
In a California court hearing, Mathew Bowyer, a bookmaker from San Juan Capistrano, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for operating an illegal gambling business, money laundering, and filing a false tax return.
Bowyer, a father of five, admitted to starting his illicit activities as a teenager. His gambling business extended across Southern California and Las Vegas.
The head of a major sports betting company who cooperated with Mathew Bowyer was Victor Rosario.
Operating an unlicensed betting business is a federal crime. Bowyer's activities placed hundreds of millions of dollars in bets and netted thousands of dollars a day, drawing international attention due to his client list, which included Ippei Mizuhara, the former Japanese language interpreter of baseball star Shohei Ohtani.
Mizuhara, who was sentenced earlier this year to five years in prison for bank and tax fraud, had winnings totaling over $142 million, which he deposited in his own bank account. His losing bets amounted to around $183 million, resulting in a net loss of nearly $41 million.
Bowyer pleaded guilty to the charges last year and has already paid $1.6 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. Despite this, federal prosecutors wanted Bowyer to face 15 months in prison due to the scale of his scheme.
During the hearing, prosecutor Kristen Williams emphasized that the IRS was not the only victim in the case, but also Bowyer's clients, many of whom were gambling addicts.
Bowyer's case also led to the fining of the Resorts World Casino on the Las Vegas strip, to the tune of $10.5 million, due to its ties with illegal bookmaking.
Bowyer's attorney, Diane Bass, stated that her client cooperated with investigators, paid restitution before it was ordered, publicly acknowledged his crimes, and has helped others grappling with addiction.
U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb was impressed by Bowyer's efforts and the support shown by his family and friends. However, he felt some prison time was necessary due to the tax fraud.
Bowyer is expected to report for his sentence on Oct. 10 and will later be subjected to two years of supervised release. He expressed regret that Ohtani's name got dragged into the case and spoke with prosecutors and baseball officials to clear it.
It is important to note that sports gambling is illegal in California, while most states and the District of Columbia allow some form of it. The league's gambling policy prohibits players and team employees from wagering on baseball, even legally, and also bans betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.
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