The United States Department of Justice announced this Thursday criminal charges for bank fraud against Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani’s former translator, for allegedly stealing $16 million from the baseball star to pay for illegal bets.
Mizuhara, 39, faces, if convicted, a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
According to the version presented by federal prosecutors in California, Mizuhari, who acted not only as translator but also as Ohtani’s de facto agent, transferred the $16 million without the consent or knowledge of the Japanese baseball player.
The Justice Department made clear that during an interview with federal agents last week Ohtani “denied authorizing the bank transfers to Mizuhara.”
“Ohtani provided his cell phone to law enforcement, who determined that there was no evidence to suggest that Ohtani was aware of or involved in Mizuhara’s illegal gambling activity or the payment of those debts,” he added.
The transfers occurred regularly between November 2021 and January 2024. In September 2021, Mizuhara had begun participating in illegal gambling and losing large amounts of money.
During that period, Mizuhara changed the contact information on Ohtani’s bank account and made calls to the bank posing as the athlete to approve the transfers.
Mizuhara had access to Ohtani’s banking information because he accompanied the player, who did not speak English, to open the account in 2018 at a branch in Arizona.
Shohei Ohtani is a generational prodigy, the biggest star in baseball right now and an extraordinary two-way talent (pitcher and hitter) who this summer signed for the Los Angeles Dodgers with the largest contract in the history of the sport: $700 million. for 10 years.
The Dodgers were already one of the biggest contenders for the title, but with the Japanese genius they have shaped a huge squad full of figures.
MLB opened an investigation after the scandal broke in mid-March. At first Mizuhara maintained that Ohtani was aware of his debts and that he had been the player who had paid them.
Then Ohtani appeared before the media, without accepting questions, and claimed to be the victim of a hoax.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sport and I never asked anyone to do that on my behalf (…). “Ippei has been stealing money from my accounts and telling lies,” he claimed.
2024-04-12 20:00:08
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