SANTA ANA, Calif. — After two years in the spotlight, as well as behind the scenes helping federal prosecutors, Mathew Bowyer Friday was sentenced to 12 months plus one day in federal prison for running an illegal sportsbook, filing a false tax return, and money laundering.
He was sentenced by Judge John W. Holcomb at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse, where six months ago former Shohei Ohtani interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was sentenced to 57 months in prison for related activities. Bowyer was also directed to pay about $1.6 million in restitution, and will be subject to two years of supervised probation following his release from prison.
Bowyer is set to surrender Oct. 10, and will serve his term at Lompoc Correctional Institute or another location in Southern California. Bowyer’s family lives in Orange County, and was out in force during Friday’s proceedings.
The sentence was decidedly light for Bowyer’s crimes — and even less than the federal government recommended. Bowyer’s lawyer, Diane Bass, argued for home confinement but no prison time. After much discussion about how the prosecution arrived at the sentencing guidelines, Holcomb disagreed with both parties. He still issued a sentence below the 15-month recommendation by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Williams, because, he said, he took into consideration all the “mitigation” factors Bass shared, as well as Bowyer’s desire to “get it over with.”
Bowyer said he thought the sentence was “fair,” and that while he would prefer to be home with his family, he is guilty and must now pay penance.
‘I have to man up and take responsibility’
Gambling is illegal in California, other than on Indian reservations or at horse race tracks, which allow parimutuel wagering only. At the height of his illegal bookmaking business, Bowyer had about 700 clients, and hundreds of millions of dollars flowing through accounts. According to court documents, he washed money through casinos in Southern California and Las Vegas.
He chose to become a bookie, he said, after spending years as a commodities trader and feeling “immoral” about making trades that he knew wouldn’t have a good result for clients. He left that for another “immoral” venture, but since being arrested, he said, he is finally doing something that “makes me feel good.”
Bowyer also told Holcomb that he came from a family of addicts, saying his brother, who had a drug addiction, was released from prison two days ago, and his father was an alcoholic. He also said gambling was a key part of his childhood, including going to race tracks with his grandparents.
In the last two years, Bowyer has been treated for his gambling addiction, and has been working with Prison Professors Charitable Corporation, doing outreach and counseling for those with addiction. He’s also rained down chaos on his family — which includes four daughters and a four-year-old son — that he said he can’t undo.
“Last night, my 14-year-old daughter was crying in my arms for an hour, and that’s what I have to live with and take to my grave,” Bowyer told Holcomb during the proceedings. “But I have to man up and take responsibility.”
Lawyers, judge disagree
Bowyer’s words were emblematic of the tone the defense took. Bass repeatedly called Bowyer and the case “extraordinary,” and said that she was happy to have met Bowyer and his family, despite the circumstance. She repeatedly pointed to the level of support from friends and family, turning more than once to point to the in-courtroom gallery of 50-plus supporters, not including media. There was also an overflow room with supporters who awaited Bowyer in the foyer of the courthouse when he appeared after sentencing.
Members of Bowyer’s immediate family, as well as a host of friends, sent letters in support of Bowyer’s character to Holcomb ahead of sentencing. Just ahead of the proceedings, one friend shouted, “Love you, man!” from the gallery, and Bowyer was greeted with hugs and congratulatory handshakes after the sentencing.
Bass passionately argued that justice would be better served if Bowyer were allowed to remain at home, begin to pay restitution, and continue his “good works,” as the judge later called them. She said that she thought prison time didn’t fit the crime.
“No one was hurt by his actions,” Bass told Holcomb. “Think of him as a casino. People lose $6 billion a year at Las Vegas casinos. He’s just one guy. This case is outside the heartland of cases, the guidelines don’t take into consideration the human factor.”
Holcomb and Williams took issue with Bass’ characterization that “no one was hurt” by Bowyer’s business.
“This is not about an addict who was gambling,” Williams said. “It’s about an addict who ran a sportsbook. Gambling is not legal here, and he wasn’t acting like it was. There was IRS harm, societal harm, and harm to clients of Mr. Bowyer’s business.
“Unlike many people who were doing these things, he was living an extravagant life, played at high-roller tables, and preyed on the people who were gambling with him. It’s not as if Mr. Bowyer came to the government and said, ‘Hey, I am doing this.’ There was a search warrant, and when the writing was on the wall, he wanted to make amends.”
Bowyer clear: Ohtani didn’t bet
Among those potentially harmed by Bowyer’s business was Mizuhara, former Japanese-language interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. Mizuhara stole $17 million from Ohtani to feed his gambling addiction. Bowyer, who said he was unaware at the start that Mizuhara had a relationship with Ohtani, extended Mizuhara hundreds of thousands in credit more than once.
Bass said Bowyer was getting “a $500,000 wire transfer every few weeks, so he didn’t think that upping the [credit] limits was a big deal. The wires came from Ohtani’s account, and he had just signed a $700 million deal with the Dodgers” so Bowyer, who was at the height of his addiction at that time, didn’t think twice.
In a post-sentencing press conference, Bass made it clear that not only did Bowyer never have any contact with Ohtani, it was Bowyer and Bass who stopped several media outlets from going public with news that Ohtani was gambling. Bass said she contacted Major League Baseball and worked with the FBI to clear Ohtani’s name as fast as it surfaced.
Bowyer was already under investigation by the time Mizuhara’s gambling came to light in March 2024. As part of Bowyer’s plea deal, he provided the government with information pertinent to Mizuhara’s and illegal bookmaker Damien LeForbes’ cases. But Bowyer and Mizuhara are now inextricably linked.
In the post-sentencing press conference, Bowyer said he would “hug” Mizuhara and apologize, if the two ever crossed paths. He also said he would tell Ohtani that “I’m sorry that his name has a slight tarnish to it just being involved in this case. I don’t believe that Shohei Ohtani made any baseball wagers, clearly we know that. I don’t believe he made any gambling wagers. … At the end of the day, he’s a guy who is playing baseball at the highest level and he got drawn into this, which is a terrible thing.”
