The gambling scandal engulfing Shohei Ohtani took another strange turn on Wednesday, when it was reported that his former performer Ippei Mizuhara was transferring money to reality TV star Ryan Boyajian.
According ESPNBoyajian, who currently stars on the Bravo reality series ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County,’ is the gambling house associate to whom Mizuhara sent funds to pay off gambling debts.
Mizuhara has chosen to plead guilty to bank fraud after allegedly stealing $17 million from the Dodgers star, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California reported. Announced On Wednesday.
The bank fraud charge carries a maximum penalty 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 off his debts by sending money to someone called “Associate 1.”
Ippei Mizuhara Reportedly Transferred Money to ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County’ Star Ryan Boyajian
Mizuhara (left) 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 range of caps: ‘Dck Pic’
That person has now been unmasked as Boyajian, 47, who has been a close friend and business partner of Bowyer for two decades.
The reality TV star is working with federal authorities, his lawyer told ESPN. Boyajian is alleged to have been granted immunity in exchange for her testimony.
According to ESPN, Mizuhara paid Boyajian, who then sent the funds to his own accounts at Resorts World and Pechanga Resort Casino in California. Boyajian and Bowyer removed the chips and played with them. If they won, they would withdraw the money.
Boyajian proposed to Jennifer Pedranti three weeks ago, and the couple’s engagement will appear on the next season of ‘Real Housewives of Orange County’ later this year. The couple has their own range of caps: ‘Dck Pic’
Meanwhile, Mizuhara is expected to enter a guilty plea “in the coming weeks,” and his arraignment is scheduled for May 14. The plea agreement says he must pay Ohtani restitution that could total nearly $17 million, as well as more than $1 million to the IRS.
Boyajian’s engagement to Jennifer Pedranti will appear on the next season of ‘Real Housewives of Orange County’
Mizuhara faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. He has been released on $25,000 bail.
The scandal surrounding Mizuhara shocked baseball fans from the United States to Japan when the news broke in March. Mizuhara took advantage of his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to loot millions from the player’s account over the years, sometimes posing as Ohtani to bankers, prosecutors said.
Mizuhara’s winning bets totaled more than $142 million, which he deposited into his own bank account and not Ohtani’s. But his losing bets were around $183 million, a net loss of nearly $41 million. He didn’t bet 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, and Mizuhara is said to have impersonated Ohtani at the bank about 24 times.
He also admitted to falsifying his 2022 tax returns by underreporting $4 million of his income.
There was no evidence that Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara’s gambling, and the player is cooperating with investigators, authorities said.