Shohei Ohtani has been in the spotlight not just for his impressive start to the 2024 season, but also because of a gambling scandal involving his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.
Mizuhara was formally charged with federal bank fraud last week, with U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada detailing how he allegedly stole more than $16 million from Shohei Ohtani to pay off a bookmaker.
Mizuhara surrendered to authorities on Friday and was released from custody on conditional bond. Bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, but Mizuhara’s sentencing may be shorter as he is reportedly planning to plead guilty.
Although the U.S. Attorney’s Office has concluded their investigation, MLB is still planning to interview Ohtani and hopes to speak to Mizuhara as well, via Jon Heyman of the New York Post:
MLB plans to interview Ohtani as soon as the U.S. Attorney’s Office wrap things up and also hopes to speak to Mizuhara, though Mizuhara has no obligation to talk to MLB.
After the findings were revealed, Ohtani expressed gratitude toward the government and reiterated that his focus is on helping the Dodgers reach their goals this season.
During the announcement, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada stressed that Ohtani was completely unaware of Mizuhara’s actions.
“There is no evidence to indicated that Mr. Ohtani authorized the over $16 million of transfers from his account to the bookmakers. Mr. Ohtani has stated that he did not authorize these transfers, that he did not grant Mizuhara access to his account.
“But on top of that, we reviewed both Mizuhra’s and Mr. Ohtani’s phones and their communications over time, over several years, thousands of communications, reviewed by a Japanese linguist, and that review has demonstrated no discussion of betting, wagers, or authorization for transfers to bookmakers.
“Furthermore, there would have been no reason for Mizuhara to impersonate Mr. Ohtani in calls with the bank if these transfers had been authorized.
“Also, when Mr. Mizuhara would occasionally win on his sports bets, the winnings were not deposited in Mr. Ohtani’s bank account, but rather into Mr. Mizuhara’s personal bank account.
“Finally, in a text message with one of the bookmakers, Mr. Mizuhara admitted to the bookmaker to stealing from Mr. Ohtani.”
MLB statement on Ippei Mizuhara
Along with federal investigators looking into the matter, MLB launched an investigation into Mizuhara and Ohtani.
“We are aware of the charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office against Mr. Mizuhara for bank fraud after a thorough federal investigation. According to that investigation, Shohei Ohtani is considered a victim of fraud and there is no evidence that he authorized betting with an illegal bookmaker,” MLB said in a statement.
“Further, the investigation did not find any betting on baseball by Mr. Mizuhara. Given the information disclosed today, and other information we have already collected, we will wait until resolution of the criminal proceeding to determine whether further investigation is warranted.”
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