A former longtime interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has been indicted on federal bank fraud charges for gambling debts and stealing millions of dollars from the Japanese sensation, federal authorities announced Thursday. did.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A former longtime interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani faces federal bank fraud charges for gambling debts and stealing millions of dollars from the Japanese sensation. The charges have been filed, federal authorities announced Thursday.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada announced the charges Thursday.
Ippei Mizuhara served as Otani's interpreter after Otani went to the United States to play baseball. Mr. Estrada said Mr. Mizuara “served as Mr. Ohtani's de facto manager.”
Estrada said Mizuhara helped Ohtani open a bank account for his baseball salary. Estrada said Mizuhara stole more than $16 million from Otani's bank account to pay for his own sports betting and lied to the bank to gain access to the account.
Estrada said that “by virtue of his position of trust with Mr. Ohtani,” he was able to “use and abuse” that trust “to plunder Mr. Ohtani's bank accounts.” He also admitted that he would win. , the money was not deposited into Otani's account.
“Mr. Mizuhara did this to satisfy his insatiable appetite for illegal sports betting,” Estrada said, adding that the complaint alleges that Mizuhara committed “massive” fraud. He added that he is doing so.
Estrada said there is no evidence that Ohtani was aware of the interpreter's actions, adding that Ohtani is fully and fully cooperating with investigators.
“I would like to emphasize this point: Mr. Otani is considered a victim in this incident,” he said.
Mizuhara is scheduled to make his first appearance in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the near future, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
An email seeking comment on the allegations against Mr. Mizuhara was sent to his attorney, Michael G. Friedman.
The maximum penalty for Mizuhara's bank fraud charge is 30 years in prison.
Mizuhara was suddenly fired from the team after the scandal surfaced last month, sparked by a criminal investigation by the National Tax Service into suspected illegal bookmakers. Major League Baseball has opened a separate investigation.
Ohtani then described a series of events that placed full responsibility on Mizuhara, who gave conflicting accounts about whether Ohtani had paid off Mizuhara's gambling debts.
Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels in December and signed a record-breaking 10-year contract with the Dodgers worth $700 million. Ohtani and Mizuhara have been daily buddies since Ohtani joined the Angels in 2018.
Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani had paid off his gambling debts at the request of an interpreter and that his bets were on international soccer, the NBA, NFL and college football. However, ESPN reported that Mizuhara changed his story the next day, saying that Otani knew nothing about the gambling debt and did not send any money to the bookmaker.
On March 25, Ohtani told a press conference at Dodger Stadium that he had never bet on sports, nor had he knowingly paid off any gambling debts accumulated by his interpreter.
“I'm very sad and shocked that someone I trusted did something like this,” the Japanese star said through a new translator.
“Ippei continues to steal money from my account and lie to me,” Otani said. “I have never bet on sports, nor have I knowingly sent money to a bookmaker.”
Ohtani said he first became aware of Suwon's gambling problem at a team meeting after the team's opening game win over the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea.
The investigation moved quickly, and charges were filed about three weeks after news of the scandal broke.
“I understand that there is great public interest in this case,” Estrada said. “We were able to work quickly on this case, but it was a very thorough investigation.”
There is no information regarding the status of individual investigations within the baseball world. MLB rules prohibit players and team officials from betting on baseball, even if it is legal. We also prohibit betting on other sports by illegal or offshore bookmakers.
Ohtani earned an annual salary of about $40 million from the Los Angeles Angels before becoming a free agent and signing a $700 million contract, but is also expected to earn at least tens of millions of dollars in annual sponsorship deals. has been done.
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