Tisha Thompson, ESPN
Ryan Boyajian, a current cast member of Bravo’s reality TV series “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” is the bookmaker’s associate to whom Ippei Mizuhara wired money to pay his gambling debts, multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation told ESPN.
Mizuhara is accused of stealing $16 million from Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani to feed what Mizuhara described to ESPN as a gambling addiction. His arraignment has been rescheduled to May 14.
As first reported by ESPN, and later detailed in the criminal complaint against Mizuhara, Mathew Bowyer, the illegal bookmaker under investigation, told the interpreter he could pay his gambling debts by wiring money into the account of Bowyer’s associate, known in the complaint as “Associate 1.”
That associate is Boyajian, who used the account with Bowyer for their real estate projects, according to the sources. Boyajian, 47, and Bowyer, 49, have been close friends and business associates for nearly 20 years. When Bowyer declared bankruptcy in 2011, court records show Boyajian loaned him $245,000.
Steven Katzman, Boyajian’s criminal attorney, told ESPN that Boyajian is working with federal authorities.
“Because there is an active investigation and Ryan is working with the authorities, he can’t confirm or deny what is going on,” Katzman told ESPN. “He is not a bookmaker or a sub-bookie.”
Multiple sources said Boyajian has received immunity in return for his testimony.
The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California could not be reached for comment. The IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles office declined to comment.
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