An alleged California bookmaker’s client list reportedly included a former teammate of Shohei Ohtani and another former minor leaguer.
Ex-Angels infielder David Fletcher and ex-Royals minor league shortstop Colby Schultz placed sports bets with the same alleged bookie that Ippei Mizuhara — Ohtani’s ex-interpreter — is accused of using, according to ESPN.
Fletcher, per the report, made bets on multiples with Mathew Boywer, who has been investigated by federal authorities over an alleged illegal gambling ring.
ESPN reported that Fletcher, who is now playing for the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate after six seasons with the Angels, did not bet on baseball.
However, Schultz reportedly bet on baseball, putting wagers on Angels games when Fletcher was on the team.
Betting on the sport is prohibited by Major League Baseball.
Per the report, Schultz and Fletcher are close friends, and the latter told the outlet that he knew Bowyer and was at a 2021 poker game where Mizuhara met the alleged bookie.
Schultz, a UC Riverside product whose hometown is 22 miles from Fletcher’s, has not played in affiliated baseball since 2019, getting released by the Royals in 2020.
It’s not clear how much money the two players allegedly gambled.
In March, Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers after reports emerged during MLB’s opening series in South Korea that the interpreter had allegedly stolen millions of dollars from Ohtani.
After authorities investigated the claims, Mizuhara was formally charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of submitting a false tax return in April after it was uncovered in the probe that he had stolen nearly $17 million from the two-way star to pay off gambling debts he had incurred.
Mizuhara is accused of having a net loss of $41 million from his sports betting.
He has maintained he did not bet against baseball.
Earlier this week, Mizuhara pleaded not guilty to the charges in a procedural move as he is expected to soon plead guilty after coming to a deal with authorities.
The bank fraud charge comes with a maximum of 30 years, while the false tax return charge comes with a potential three-year sentence.
Ohtani, according to investigators, did not know about the alleged gambling.
