The very beginning of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2024 season, and two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani’s first season with L.A., was marred by a gambling scandal involving Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.
Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers after allegations that he stole millions of dollars from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts.
At first, Mizuhara’s alleged misconduct implicated Ohtani, but an investigation cleared the two-way star of any wrong doing and has allowed him to move forward with his playing career with new interpreter Will Ireton.
This only left Mizuhara to be investigated and subsequently charged.
Mizuhara has already apologized publicly to Ohtani and the Dodgers, and is now cooperating with the federal charges. On Wednesday, Mizuhara pleaded guilty to the charges of bank fraud and tax fraud associated with theft of funds, according to Meghann Cuniff of The Washington Post:
Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter is pleading guilty. Prosecutors announced a plea deal today for Ippei Mizuhara.
Here's the filing:https://t.co/tUi9dgYwlh pic.twitter.com/QAsPWPzqhF
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) May 8, 2024
Mizuhara now moves ahead with the legal process and will be subject to sentencing. According to Cuniff, pleading guilty to these two counts could land Mizuhara in prison for anywhere from seven to nine years:
Ippei Mizuhara is pleading guilty to two counts: bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return.
The plea deal puts his highest offense level at 29, which for someone with no criminal history carries 87 to 108 months in federal prison. pic.twitter.com/SaKTEU9HQf
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) May 8, 2024
While Ohtani was already cleared of any wrongdoing in this situation, Mizuhara pleading guilty allows the Dodger superstar to move forward with the season and not have to worry about any distractions of potentially having to appear in court.
Shohei Ohtani thanks Dodgers for support during investigation
While Ohtani undoubtedly cooperated with every step of the investigation, he had the full support of the Dodger organization behind him. In the aftermath of being cleared, he wanted to make sure he thanked the Dodgers for providing him with support and everything else that he needed during what was a tumultuous time.
Ireton has stepped in to be Ohtani’s interpreter and his teammates have been nothing but supportive toward the superstar since his arrival with the Dodgers.
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