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Ippei Mizuhara 'wired Shohei Ohtani's money to Real Housewives star Ryan Boyajian to pay off gambling debts'
The gambling scandal engulfing Shohei Ohtani took yet another bizarre twist on Wednesday, when it was reported that his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was wiring money to reality TV star Ryan Boyajian.
According to ESPN, Boyajian - who currently stars in Bravo's reality TV series 'The Real Housewives of Orange County' - is the bookmaker's associate to whom Mizuhara sent funds to pay off gambling debts.
Mizuhara has opted to plead guilty to bank fraud after allegedly stealing $17million from the Dodgers star, the Central District of California's Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday.
The count of bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Mizuhara will also plead guilty to one count of subscribing to a false tax return, which carries a sentence of up to three years.
Mathew Bowyer is the illegal bookmaker under investigation. He is said to have told Ohtani's interpreter that he could pay his debts by sending money to someone referred to as 'Associate 1'.
Ippei Mizuhara reportedly wired money to 'The Real Housewives of Orange County' star Ryan Boyajian
Mizuhara (L) agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges for illegally transferring $17 million from Shohei Ohtani's bank account without the player's knowledge or permission
Boyajian and his fiancee Jennifer Pedranti have their own cap range: 'Dck Pic'
That person has now been unmasked as Boyajian, 47, who has been close friends and business associates with Bowyer for two decades.
The reality TV star is working with federal authorities, his attorney told ESPN. It's claimed Boyajian has been given immunity in return for his testimony.
According to ESPN, Mizuhara paid Boyajian, who then forwarded the funds to his own accounts at Resorts World and Pechanga Resort Casino in California. Boyajian and Bowyer would withdraw the chips and gamble with them. If they won, they would cash out.
Boyajian proposed to Jennifer Pedranti three weeks ago, with the couple's engagement set to feature on the upcoming season of 'Real Housewives of Orange County' later this year. The couple has its own cap range: 'Dck Pic'
Mizuhara, meanwhile, is expected to enter a guilty plea 'in the coming weeks,' with his arraignment scheduled for May 14. The plea agreement says he will be required to pay Ohtani restitution that could total nearly $17M, as well as more than $1M to the IRS.
Boyajian's engagement to Jennifer Pedranti will feature on the upcoming season of 'Real Housewives of Orange County'
Mizuhara is facing a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. He has been free on a $25k bond
The scandal surrounding Mizuhara shocked baseball fans from the U.S. to Japan when the news broke in March. Mizuhara exploited his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to plunder millions from the two-way player's account for years, at times impersonating Ohtani to bankers, prosecutors said.
Mizuhara's winning bets totaled over $142M, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani's. But his losing bets were around $183M, a net loss of nearly $41M. He did not wager on baseball.
Mizuhara helped Ohtani open a bank account in 2018 and began stealing money from that account in 2021, according to the plea agreement, with Mizuhara said to have impersonated Ohtani to the bank about 24 times.
He also admitted to falsifying his 2022 tax returns by underreporting his income by more than $4 million.
There was no evidence that Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara's gambling, and the player is cooperating with investigators, authorities said.