The bookie for Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, described the former translator's gambling as "bananas" and unlike anything he had previously encountered.
Mizuhara, who pleaded guilty to stealing millions from Ohtani, reportedly placed approximately 19,000 bets between December 2021 and January 2024, wagering about $325 million. This averages out to daily bets of roughly $320,000.
Matthew Boyer, the bookie, told ESPN that Mizuhara's betting activity was extreme. "He was absolutely bananas, the amount of bets he was making," Boyer said. "He was trying to dig out a hole, and that hole made him even poorer of a gambler because he’s betting big payout stuff."
Boyer, who himself received a one-year prison sentence for his role and was released to a halfway house in March after less than six months, admitted that he had given Mizuhara $20,000 in startup credit despite Mizuhara's reported earnings of $87,000 as Ohtani's translator. Boyer also stated that he sometimes gambled to launder money, turning cashier's checks into cash. Multiple casinos were fined for allowing Boyer to wager without adequately verifying his source of income.
Given the immense size of the bets, Boyer said he assumed the wagers were either made on Ohtani's behalf or that the two were betting together.
Mizuhara is currently serving a 57-month prison sentence in a Pennsylvania facility after pleading guilty in February to bank fraud and filing a false tax return. He is also ordered to pay Ohtani back $17 million.