RHOC picks up cameras to capture $17million Shohei Ohtani scheme

The unbelievable gambling and fraud scandal engulfing Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani may play out in the new season of The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Ryan Boyajian, the fiancé of cast member Jennifer Pedranti, has been implicated in the case, which saw Ohtani’s former translator Ippei Mizuhara allegedly steal over $16million from the Japanese MLB pitcher to pay off his gambling debts.

Now Bravo is faced with the decision of whether or not to include Boyajian’s legal woes in the show’s upcoming season, Dailymail.com can exclusively reveal.

Separately, Lionsgate Television is developing a series based on Ohtani’s rise in the sporting world and what led to him allegedly being defrauded out of millions.

Boyajian, 47, is an associate and longtime friend of illegal Orange County bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who Mizuhara sent funds to in order to pay his mounting debts.

According to ESPN, Mizuhara wired money to Boyajian at Bowyer’s request, and then Boyajian forwarded those funds to his own ‘marker’ accounts at Resorts World and Pechanga Resort Casino in California. 

Boyajian and Bowyer would then withdraw the chips and gamble with them. If they won, they would cash out.

Dailymail.com can confirm that Boyajian’s ties to the bookie – who is currently under federal investigation – were brought up by some of Jennifer’s castmates while filming the show’s upcoming eighteenth season.

Production on season 18 wrapped weeks ago and producers originally considered axing a lot of the accusations about Boyajian’s rumored dealings in order to keep the focus on the women instead of their significant others. 

However, producers are now reconsidering their approach  – and have even picked cameras back up to film Jen and her castmate’s reacting in real time to Boyajian’s scandal.

‘Nothing is off the table at this point, they’re just figuring out the best approach to handle this,’ said one source connected to production.

‘Before this mess even happened the cast had delivered one of the best and most explosive Orange County seasons in years, so it’s not like producers needed more content – they have plenty already,’ the source continued.

‘But they also don’t want to underplay what could potentially become the next big Bravo legal scandal.’

Other sources tell Dailymail.com that most of the women on the cast weren’t exactly shocked when news of Boyajian’s connection to the Ohtani scheme officially broke in the press. 

‘The ladies don’t trust him and were already aware that he was possibly connected to some questionable figures – it was a topic of gossip behind the scenes among a lot of them,’ said the source.

Dailymail.com also understands that Boyajian completely avoided stepping foot inside any casinos while he in Las Vegas last November for the Bravocon convention.

So far, Pedranti is sticking by Boyajian’s side, with the mother-of-five posting a photo of herself and her beau to Instagram on Thursday along with the caption, ‘We’ve got this’.

Dailymail.com can confirm that Pedranti and Boyajian’s romantic relationship will be featured as one of the storylines on RHOC this year.

Immediately after filming wrapped on the season, Boyajian proposed to the blonde yoga instructor on the beach while they were on vacation in the Bahamas. 

Although it wasn’t officially captured by Bravo cameras, Dailymail.com understands that Boyajian had the proposal filmed himself and submitted the footage to production.

Legal scandals have proven to be ratings gold for Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise in recent years.

Multiple seasons of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills focused on Tom Girardi’s $18million fraud case and how the scandal affected his wife, Erika Jayne.

On The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, cast member Jen Shah was raided by homeland security on camera in season two for running a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme.

Shah’s legal battle played out on camera throughout season three, with cameras following almost up until she went to prison.

Boyajian appeared on the Real Housewives of Orange County for the first time last year during season 17.

He was accused of being unfaithful to Pedranti, with co-star Tamra Judge even claiming that he’d sent a lewd photo to one of their mutual friends. 

According to ESPN, Boyajian and Bowyer have been close friends and business associates for 20 years.

When Bowyer declared bankruptcy in 2011, Boyajian loaned him $245,000 according to court records. 

Despite their long friendship, ESPN reports that Boyajian is not only working with authorities, but has also ‘received immunity in return for his testimony’.

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‘Because there is an active investigation and Ryan is working with the authorities, he can’t confirm or deny what is going on,’ Boyajian’s criminal attorney Steven Katzman told ESPN.

Although Bowyer is being investigated, he has not been charged with anything and has not been named in any indictment unsealed to date, according to ESPN. 

Mizuhara has opted to plead guilty to bank fraud after allegedly stealing $17million from the Dodgers star, the Central District of California’s Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday. 

The plea agreement says he will be required to pay Ohtani restitution that could total nearly $17million, as well as more than $1million to the IRS.

The count of bank fraud carries a maximum sentence 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. 

The scandal surrounding Mizuhara shocked baseball fans from the U.S. to Japan when the news broke in March. 

Mizuhara exploited his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to plunder millions from the two-way player’s account for years, at times impersonating Ohtani to bankers, prosecutors said. 

Mizuhara’s winning bets totaled over $142million, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani’s. But his losing bets were around $183million, a net loss of nearly $41million.  

The translator helped Ohtani open a bank account in 2018 and began stealing money from that account in 2021, according to the plea agreement, with Mizuhara said to have impersonated Ohtani to the bank about 24 times.

He also admitted to falsifying his 2022 tax returns by underreporting his income by more than $4 million.

There was no evidence that Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara’s gambling, and the player is cooperating with investigators, authorities said.