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What to Know as Shohei Ohtani’s Former Interpreter Faces Fraud Charges

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The former longtime interpreter for Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani appeared in federal court on Friday, charged with felony bank fraud.

Ippei Mizuhara surrendered to law enforcement on Friday. He faces federal fraud charges for allegedly stealing more than $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star. Mizuhara appeared in U.S. District Court and was released shortly after on a $25,000 signature bond. 

“I’m very grateful for the Department of Justice’s investigation,” Ohtani told the Los Angeles Times on Friday. “For me personally, this marks a break from this, and I’d like to focus on baseball.”

Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers during the team’s season opener in the first-ever Seoul Series in South Korea.

Shohei Ohtani’s Former Interpreter Faces Federal Charges in Alleged Gambling Scandal

Lawyers for Ohtani accused Mizuhara of stealing funds from the Dodgers star to place bets with an alleged illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara had been Ohtani’s interpreter since the two-way star came to America in 2018. He was fired by the Dodgers in March after Ohtani’s legal team accused the 39-year-old of a “massive theft”.

News broke of the gambling scandal after Ohtani’s name surfaced in a Los Angeles Times investigation of an alleged illegal bookmaker. Representatives for Ohtani looked into the matter and discovered the alleged “massive theft” by Mizuhara to place bets. At least $4.5 million in wire transfers were sent from Ohtani’s bank account to a Southern California bookmaking operation.

Initially, a spokesperson for Ohtani told ESPN that he transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debt. His team arranged for Mizuhara to speak with ESPN, which he reportedly did, laying out his account in great detail. However, Ohtani’s team later disavowed Mizuhara’s account before the interview was published and lawyers for Ohtani instead released a statement.

“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,” read the statement from Berk Brettler LLP.

Five days after Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers, Ohtani read a statement addressing the alleged gambling scandal. He remained steadfast in his denials about gambling and said that he first learned about Mizuhara’s gambling in a meeting after the first game in Korea. He said that he was unaware Mizuhara was in debt until the two shared a one-on-one conversation later that night. Ohtani claimed Mizuhara admitted that he was “sending money,” using Ohtani’s account, “to the bookmaker.” That was when Ohtani contacted his representatives.

Ippei Mizuhara Investigated and Charged in Alleged “Massive Theft”

The federal investigation into Mizuhara’s alleged theft is being conducted by the Los Angeles offices of IRS Criminal Investigations and the main investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. A criminal complaint filed Thursday detailed the alleged scheme through evidence that included text messages, financial records, and recordings of phone calls.

Major League Baseball opened its own investigation into the alleged gambling scandal shortly after the controversy surfaced. “Given the information disclosed today, and other information we have already collected, we will wait until resolution of the criminal proceeding to determine whether further investigation is warranted,” MLB said in a statement on Thursday in response to the charges filed against Mizuhara.

Mizuhara has been charged with one count of felony bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Mizuhara is scheduled to be arraigned on May 9.

 

Photo Credit: © Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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