The saga surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter and Los Angeles Dodgers employee Ippei Mizuhara has placed a cloud over the start of the 2024 season.
During the team’s first regular season series in Seoul, South Korea, Mizuhara and Ohtani were subject to a gambling investigation involving amounts in the millions.
Mizuhara was immediately fired by the Dodgers and after the investigation, it was revealed that Mizuhara stole more than $15 million from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts before being arrested by federal authorities.
The scandal rocked Ohtani’s world in particular, with a deep betrayal from a friend who has been with him through every step of his Major League journey.
The whole event reached an ending point on Tuesday when it was announced that Mizuhara officially pleaded guilty to the crimes involving Ohtani and the gambling debts, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN:
NEWS: Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani’s former and longtime interpreter, pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges during a change-of-plea hearing in federal court this morning.
Total maximum sentence: 33 years.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 25 at 2 pm PT.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) June 4, 2024
The actual sentence won’t be given to Mizuhara until Oct. 25, meaning that will be the official end date of the entire scandal. But it’s very likely that Mizuhara receives significant prison time for these crimes now that he has plead guilty.
For Ohtani, the guilty plea signals an end to the federal and MLB investigation, fully absolving him of any wrongdoing and allowing him to move forward with the 2024 season.
Despite the fact that Ohtani has been incredible through the first two months of 2024, there is no denying how difficult a situation this must have been and still is for the Dodgers superstar.
Dodgers release statement on guilty plea
The Dodgers quickly released a statement in response to Mizuhara pleading guilty.
“With today’s plea in the criminal proceedings against Ippei Mizuhara and the conclusion of both federal and MLB investigations, the Dodgers are pleased that Shohei and the team can put this entire matter behind them and move forward in pursuit of a World Series,” the Dodgers said.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and several of Ohtani’s teammates publicly voiced their support and belief that Mizuhara acted in a shroud of secrecy. The federal investigation ultimately discovered Mizuhara gained access to Ohtani’s bank account and changed communication settings in order to take full control of transfers without being detected.
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