Recently released court documents in the Matthew Boyer illegal bookmaking case have revealed new details about his multi-million dollar operation and the steps he took to hide that business from authorities. Boyer’s bookie business served hundreds of customers, including former and professional athletes, and used casinos to launder his unregulated cash.
Boyer is set to enter a guilty plea at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Santa Ana, California on Friday. Judge John W. Holcolmb, who is presiding over the case, will hear Boyer’s plea on a series of illegal gambling, tax evasion, and money laundering charges.
Like many illegal betting operations, Boyer’s business relied on a network of agents who recruited players, collected and delivered cash to and from them. Oftentimes, those payments would be delivered to Boyer as he held court at various California and Las Vegas casinos including Resorts World and the MGM Grand. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that those casinos were both headed by Scott Sibella, who himself faced charges for compliance failures.
Court documents reported on by Courthouse News describe the operation saying, “A staff would stop by at a table game while defendant took calls and discussed the Bowyer Gambling Business. At other times, defendant would collect payments of proceeds of the Bowyer Gambling Business while gambling at Casino A, including payments in casino chips or in cash in envelopes or bags.”
Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Shohei Ohtani, who did not gamble with Boyer, was dragged into the scandal last year when it was revealed that his assistant, Ippei Mizuhara, embezzled millions of dollars from him to gamble with Boyer. Court documents also showed that Boyer had several other former professional athletes as clients.
Judge Holcomb could sentence Boyer to up to 18 years in prison and impose more than $750,000 in fines at Friday’s hearing.