Former Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to bank and tax fraud charges in a sports betting case in which prosecutors say he stole more than US$16 million from Japanese to pay his debts.
The scandal surrounding Ippei Mizuhara shook baseball fans in the United States and Japan when it surfaced in March.
Mizuhara will plead guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of filing a false tax refund application, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. A maximum of 30 years in prison is associated with the first charge and a maximum of three years behind bars is associated with the second.
Under the plea agreement, Mizuhara must turn over the more than $16 million to Ohtani and more than $1 million to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. These amounts could change before the sentence.
Mizuhara will plead guilty in the coming weeks and face court on May 14, prosecutors said.
The extent of the defendant’s deception and theft is enormous, federal prosecutor Martin Estrada said in a statement. He took advantage of his position and a bond of trust to abuse Mr. Ohtani and fuel his gambling addiction.
Mizuhara exploited his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to steal millions from the star for years. He even sometimes pretended to be Ohtani in front of bankers, according to prosecutors. He allegedly generated $142 million in winnings from his bets and deposited the money into his account, not Ohtani’s. However, it would also have lost $183 million, for a net loss of nearly $41 million. He didn’t bet on baseball games.
There was no evidence to conclude that Ohtani was involved in or even aware of the bets made by Mizuhara. The star player cooperated with investigators, according to authorities.
2024-05-08 21:44:22
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