Ippei Mizuharaextractor Shohei Ohtani was accused this Thursday, through a federal criminal complaintof steal more than $16 million dollars from the Japanese playerwhich he illegally extracted from his bank account to pay debts he incurred in just over two years, after participating in nearly 19,000 bets.
This “bank fraud”, which is the official charge, is penalized as a serious crime and carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Mizuhara is expected to appear in the United States Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming days, although a specific date is not yet available.
How did the robbery occur?
According to the authorities in a statement, an affidavit that accompanies the complaint describes that, andIn 2018, Mizuhara accompanied Ohtani, who spoke no English, to a bank branch in Arizona to help him open an account. and translated for the player by configuring the details of it.
Years later, Ohtani’s salary for playing professional baseball was deposited into this account and the baseball player never gave Mizuhara control of it or any of his other financial accounts, according to the affidavit.
However, Mizuhara allegedly told Ohtani’s financial professionalsnone of whom spoke Japanese, that the star denied access to the account. Posteriorly changed the information by posing as Shohei, deceiving bank employees, to perform transfers to people’s accounts associated with their gambling debts.
Ippei Mizuhara would have placed around 19,000 bets
According to various media outlets that were present at the press conference, Authorities said Ohtani’s translator would have placed around 19,000 bets between December 2021 and January 2024, that is, an exorbitant figure for just over two years.
According to the complaint, Mizuhara won about 142 million on these bets, but lost $182 million, which left a negative balance of $40 million. Curiously, none of the records indicate that the bets were on baseball games.
What does it mean that Ippei Mizuhara has been criminally reported?
The complaint is nothing more than an accusation, so Ohtani’s translator remains innocent until proven guilty in the Tribunal.
Meanwhile, the investigation has already begun and is being carried out by the IRS Criminal Investigation department and Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Mitchell of the Major Fraud Section, Dan Boyle of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section, and Rachel N. Agress of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.
It is expected that in the coming days the date on which Mizuhara will have to appear in court to find out his future will be announced.
Keep reading:
· Latina Dodger fan who caught Shohei Ohtani’s home run exposes controversy for giving the ball
· MLB commissioner assures that he “hopes that the investigation into Shohei Ohtani will be resolved shortly”
· Shohei Ohtani affirms that he has never bet on baseball: “Ippei has told lies”
2024-04-12 15:37:53
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