Shohei Ohtani Confirmed Not Involved in Suwon Betting Scandal; Underground Bookmaker Reveals Key Insider Details

Ippei Suwon, formerly the dedicated translator for Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, was exposed in June 2024 for misappropriating $17 million from Ohtani’s account to fund illegal betting and has since been incarcerated. Currently, Mathew Bowyer, the ringleader of the illicit betting ring in this scandal, has given an interview revealing the instant he “personally saw the truth.”

During an exclusive interview with ESPN reporter Tisha Thompson, Bowyer recalled watching Shohei Ohtani pitch for the Angels in Los Angeles while monitoring bets on his own betting website. Mid-game, he noticed bets being placed from Suwon’s account, even though Ohtani was actively pitching on the mound, which instantly made Bowyer realize, “These bets could not have been placed by Ohtani himself.”

“I initially thought Suwon might have been placing bets on behalf of Ohtani or alongside him,” Bowyer explained. “But since I was at the Angels’ home stadium watching Ohtani pitch, and I kept seeing bets coming through the site, it became clear to me that Ohtani was on the field pitching at that exact time. That was my answer: all those bets were placed by Suwon alone.”

Although Bowyer initially harbored some doubt about whether Shohei Ohtani was aware, over time he became increasingly convinced that the entire betting operation was unrelated to Ohtani and was solely the action of Suwon.