Though there is no clear connection in court documents to already imprisoned illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, another California bookmaker Tuesday pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges. Bowyer, who took bets from former Shohei Ohtani interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, is currently serving a 12-month sentence in federal prison. He ran a massive illegal betting operation with more than 700 customers, and faced up to 18 years in prison for running an illegal sportsbook, money laundering, and tax evasion.
Bowyer has been tied to illegal bookmaker Wayne Nix, also based in Southern California. Nix pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an illegal bookmaking business and tax fraud, and is set for sentencing on March 26.
Across the country, a New York district court judge pushed scheduled status conferences for accused Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz from Thursday to March 6. The two were indicted on charges of game fixing, and both pleaded not guilty in November. They are accused of taking money for throwing certain pitches as well as sharing with bettors information about pitches so they could wager. Lawyers for both Jan. 9 filed motions to obtain “Bills of Particulars” from the federal government, which Thursday filed responses. The documents would detail timelines and other information federal prosecutors have collected.
East Coast district courts dealt with multiple illegal wagering cases Thursday, as the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania unsealed indictments for 26 basketball players accused of aiding and abetting bribery in a sports contest, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud. Many were or are NCAA basketball players, some involved contests overseas in the Chinese Basketball Association, and some are also named in a similar case in New York.
In California, Jason Noah Feinman pleaded guilty to operating an illegal gambling business, laundering money, and evading taxes, the U.S. Dept. of Justice announced. Feinman operated a Costa Rican-based sports betting platform used by at least three other U.S.-based illegal bookmakers, identified as C.K., Z.W., and B.Z., as well as “multiple foreign nationals,” per court documents. The initials match those of Christopher Scott King, who appears to have been one of Feinman’s partners. He pleaded guilty to operating an illegal gambling business, unlawful monetary transactions, violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and tax evasion in October 2025, and was sentenced to 21 months in prison and payment of $3.8 million in restitution. King is scheduled to surrender Feb. 6.
Z.W. and B.Z don’t appear to match those of any other known illegal bookmakers or any accused of such in Southern California.
Feinman’s plea agreement was initially posted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Central California docket Oct. 16, 2025, and was signed Oct. 10.
The maximum penalty for Feinman’s actions are 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fine of $750,000 or double the “gross gain or gross loss resulting from
the offenses, whichever is greater.” He is set to be sentenced May 26 by Judge Stanley Blumenfeld, Jr.
Feinman did over $2K in revenue per day
According to the plea agreement, Feinman operated his illegal sportsbook from 2015 through May 2024, and essentially acted as a management services partner to illegal bookmakers, who directed their clients to Feinman’s platform, which “had gross revenue of well over $2,000 on a single day.” The bookmakers would pay Feinman, “often in cash,” for use of the platform. The plea agreement outlines several transactions that included the exchange of payments by check and cryptocurrency, including one on Jan. 2, 2024, in which Feinman paid King $1.5 million in cash after King gave him 18 checks to deposit. Another transaction in April 2023 involved moving $200,000 in cryptocurrency into a crypto wallet before Feinman gave Z.W. $190,000 in cash.
Feinman failed to pay taxes on $4.2 million of income between 2018-22, and per the plea agreement is required to file taxes ahead of sentencing and pay back taxes of $1.5 million, in addition to penalties and other fees.
