Bookmaker linked to baseball star Shohei Ohtani's interpreter sentenced to just over a year

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani was sentenced Friday to just over a year in prison.

Mathew Bowyer, 50, pleaded guilty last year to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return. He was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and ordered to pay $1.6 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, which his lawyer said he has already paid.

“The bottom line is, I am remorseful. I have made many poor choices in my life,” Bowyer told the court, his voice trembling.

The case against Bowyer drew international attention because he counted among his clients Ohtani’s former Japanese language interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. Mizuhara was sentenced earlier this year to five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after stealing nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player.

Federal prosecutors wanted Bowyer to face 15 months in prison for running a scheme for at least five years that placed hundreds of millions of dollars in bets and netted thousands of dollars a day. Bowyer, who has said he has a gambling addiction, asked to be spared prison time due to his extensive cooperation with federal investigations into illegal sports betting and more recent outreach efforts to help other addicts.

U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb said he was impressed by Bowyer’s efforts and the overwhelming support shown by Bowyer’s family and friends, more than a dozen who were in the courtroom Friday, but said he felt some prison time was necessary due to the tax fraud.

“Despite the significant mitigation, there are consequences for committing these crimes,” Holcomb said.

During a hearing in federal court in Santa Ana, California, prosecutor Kristen Williams said the IRS was not the only victim in the case but also Bowyer's clients, many gambling addicts themselves.

“There is a need to make sure that what the public understands about this is not simply that Mr. Bowyer had an addiction problem,” Williams told the court. “He was living an extravagant lifestyle.”

The sentence is still far less than the three years recommended by probation officials, said Diane Bass, Bowyer's attorney. Bass said that's because her client cooperated with investigators, paid restitution before it was ordered, publicly acknowledged his crimes and has helped others grappling with addiction.

“He has shown extraordinary acceptance of responsibility,” Bass told the court.

Bowyer, a father of five from San Juan Capistrano, California, said he began gambling as a teen by playing poker and betting on video games, and it later spiraled out of control.

He eventually was running an illegal gambling business in Southern California and Las Vegas that took wagers from more than 700 bettors including Mizuhara, authorities said. While Mizuhara’s winnings totaled over $142 million, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani’s, his losing bets were around $183 million — a net loss of nearly $41 million.

Bowyer cooperated with investigators in their prosecution of Mizuhara and the head of a large sports gambling business, according to prosecutors.

Authorities have repeatedly said Ohtani was a victim in the case. On Friday, Bowyer said he was sorry Ohtani's name got dragged into the case and that he spoke with prosecutors and baseball officials to clear it.

“At the end of the day, he's just an innocent guy playing baseball,” Bowyer told reporters.

Bowyer is expected to report for his sentence Oct. 10. He will later be subjected to two years of supervised release.

Operating an unlicensed betting business is a federal crime. Sports gambling is illegal in California, while most states and the District of Columbia allow some form of it.

Sports-betting scandals have made headlines in recent years, including one that led Major League Baseball to ban a player for life last year because of gambling for the first time since Pete Rose was barred in 1989.

The league’s gambling policy prohibits players and team employees from wagering on baseball, even legally. MLB also bans betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.

The league last year banned San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano and suspended four other players for betting on baseball legally. Rose, whose playing days were already over, agreed to his ban after an investigation found he had placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985 to 1987 while playing for and managing the team.

In Nevada, the case against Bowyer led gaming regulators to issue a $10.5 million fine against the Resorts World Casino on the Las Vegas strip. It was the second-largest fine handed down by the state’s gaming commission and settled a complaint accusing the casino of welcoming people with ties to illegal bookmaking.

Mathew Bowyer, center, who pled guilty a year ago to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return, leaves federal court, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif., following his sentencing to 12 months and one day in prison. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Mathew Bowyer, who pled guilty a year ago to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return, speaks at a news conference outside federal court, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif., following his sentencing to 12 months and one day in prison. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Mathew Bowyer, who pled guilty a year ago to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return, speaks at a news conference outside federal court, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif., following his sentencing to 12 months and one day in prison. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Mathew Bowyer, who pled guilty a year ago to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return, talks to his attorney outside federal court, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif., following his sentencing to 12 months and one day in prison, (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Mathew Bowyer, a Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, arrives at federal court for sentencing, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Mathew Bowyer, a Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, arrives at federal court for sentencing, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Mathew Bowyer, a Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, arrives at federal court for sentencing, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn’t remember hearing boos from his home crowd during his brilliant 13-year career in Milwaukee.

It happened Tuesday midway through the Bucks’ 139-106 loss to a Minnesota Timberwolves team that was playing without Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert.

“I’ve never been a part of something like that before,” Antetokounmpo said after the game. “Something new for me.”

The two-time MVP responded the same way he has whenever he’s been booed on the road. After making a driving layup and drawing a foul in the opening minute of the third quarter, Antetokounmpo offered a thumbs-down gesture and booed back.

“When I get booed, I boo back,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’ve been doing it all season.”

Those boos poured down after Milwaukee trailed 76-45 at the break. Never before in franchise history had the Timberwolves built such a big halftime lead in a road game.

Antetokounmpo acknowledged the Bucks’ effort was low Tuesday. He also expanded on why the boos bothered him.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” Antetokounmpo said. “But everybody has their opinion to do what they want to do. I’m not going to tell them what to do and how they should act when we don’t play hard or win, or we lose games or we’re not where we’re supposed to be. And I don’t think anybody has the right to tell me how I should act on the basketball court after I’ve been here 13 years and I’m basically the all-time leader in everything.”

The Bucks’ latest loss came as they approach the midway point of a season that hasn’t met their expectations.

Milwaukee (17-23) is 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, meaning the Bucks would have to rally in the second half just to reach the play-in round of the postseason. That’s a precipitous fall for a team that has made nine straight playoff appearances and won the NBA title in 2021.

The Bucks’ precarious position means they can’t afford to have performances like the one they delivered against a short-handed Minnesota team Tuesday. Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers blamed it on “dead legs” after the game, noting the Bucks had just returned from a four-game trip and are about to go back on the road for their next two contests.

“Dead legs cannot be an excuse,” Antetokounmpo said. “We have to be better.”

Antetokounmpo noted that the improvement must start with him, though he delivered 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists on Tuesday. He was asked how the Bucks could step up in the second half to put themselves back in playoff position.

“Playing hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “Playing the right way. Playing selfless basketball, which we don’t. I don’t know. I really don’t know. Those three things are important. I know that they’re important for you to win. Right now there’s so many things that we can do better. Let’s just start by, ’Can we just play harder? Can we just play the right way? Can we create advantages for the next player? Can we just play for our teammate, play for the team, play for ourselves?' Let’s start with that, and I think everything will follow.”

Antetokounmpo has offered similar messages after other losses this season, but the Bucks still haven’t put it all together. They haven’t won more than two straight games at any point this season.

“Maybe we are not connected as much as we should,” Antetokounmpo said. “Maybe my voice is just a broken record and guys are just tired and guys might tend to do what they want to do. I don’t know. But as a leader, it doesn’t matter. Being a leader is the same thing as being a dad. You have to keep on being available, being consistent with your words and your actions over and over and over again. One day you hope the message is going to go through.”

In the meantime, Antetokounmpo says he will keep responding to boos the same way, no matter who’s doing the jeering.

“I thrive through adversity,” Antetokounmpo said. “I thrive when people don’t believe in me. Doesn’t matter if I’m on the road, if I’m at home, if I’m at my family dinner, if I’m at a practice facility against my teammate.”

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Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo shoots between Minnesota Timberwolves' Julius Randle and Naz Reid during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts aftetr being fouled during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)