Ippei Mizuhara, Interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, Accused of Embezzling $16 Million
OAN’s James Meyers
Thursday, April 11, 2024
UPDATE 11:05 AM: Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani, has been formally charged with bank fraud for allegedly stealing more than $16 million from his friend. According to United States Attorney Martin Estrada, Mizuhara stole the money to “finance his voracious appetite for illegal sports betting.”
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8:45 AM: Former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani is likely to be charged by federal authorities in connection with a gambling investigation related to a California bookie, according to multiple sources.
Ippei Mizuhara, who was fired by the Dodgers in March after being accused of stealing millions from Ohtani in order to cover sports gambling debts, is currently “in negotiations” to plead guilty to his purported federal crimes.
According to TMZ, citing law enforcement sources, Ohtani was the victim of fraud and did not have any knowledge of the alleged scheme that cost Ohtani the upwards of $4.5 million.
The investigation, which was headed by the Los Angeles offices of the IRS’ criminal division, the Department of Homeland Security, along with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California, is now in the works to come to a close.
The investigation found that Mizhuhara may have changed the settings on Ohtani’s bank accounts to not allow him to receive any notifications about ongoing transactions being made.
According to The New York Times, Mizuhara had allegedly stolen even more than the original $4.5 million that was initially reported as part of the alleged theft.
Additionally, the former interpreter for the reigning American League MVP is expected to face charges in the next few days, but it has not yet been specified which specific crimes he will be charged with, according to TMZ.
“I’m very saddened and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this,” Ohtani said at a news conference in Los Angeles last month.
“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies,” Ohtani said in Japanese with the help of a different interpreter.
Attorneys for the baseball star said in a statement at the time that, “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.”
The 29-year-old Japanese baseball player signed a 10 year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers this past off-season.
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