Ippei Mizuhara, a former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, will enter guilty pleas to one count of bank fraud and one count of filing a false tax return, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. That’s what he said. .
Mizuhara is suspected of embezzling millions of dollars and using the ill-gotten gains to pay off gambling debts. He is likely to enter a formal plea in the coming weeks. According to reports, Mizuhara is scheduled to be indicted on May 14th. US Department of Justice.
“The extent of this defendant’s deception and theft is egregious,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “He used his position of trust to exploit Mr. Ohtani and fuel his dangerous gambling habits. We are committed to ensuring that justice is brought to justice.”
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (right) is assisted by interpreter Ippei Mizuhara during DodgerFest, which celebrates the upcoming season and offers live entertainment, behind-the-scenes experiences, food, drink, and meet-and-greets with the Dodgers’ newest players. He borrowed it and spoke to the media. Saturday, February 3, 2024 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. (Keith Birmingham/Media News Group/Pasadena Star News via Getty Images)
Federal authorities discovered that Mizuhara had stolen an estimated $17 million. As a condition of the plea agreement, Ohtani will be required to pay full restitution.
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Federal investigators filed charges against Mizuhara on April 11, and Mizuhara turned himself in the next day, the Justice Department confirmed.
Japanese interpreter Ippei Mizuhara attends a press conference at Dodgers Stadium on December 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Frederick J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said Mizuhara was deeply involved in Ohtani’s life and career and became the star player’s “de facto manager.” This role allowed him to withdraw money from accounts, sometimes by lying to bank employees and pretending to be Ohtani, to feed his “insatiable appetite for illegal sports gambling.”
“Ippei Mizuhara was turned over into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service this morning,” federal authorities announced in a statement sent to FOX News Digital on Friday.
Otanti publicly addressed the gambling scandal in late March, saying he had never bet on sports and that Mizuhara’s story that he had paid off $4.5 million in gambling debt was completely fabricated.
Shohei Ohtani will be introduced to the Los Angeles Dodgers on December 14, 2023 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
“I’ve never bet on baseball or any other sport, and I’ve never asked anyone to bet on my behalf,” Ohtani told the new interpreter before the Dodgers’ final spring training game. spoke through. “And I had never gone through a bookmaker to bet on sports.”
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Ohtani, Major League Baseball’s highest-paid player, said he is still trying to explore his emotions after learning of the scandal.
“If I had to describe how I’m feeling right now, it’s beyond shock,” Ohtani said. “It’s really difficult to explain in words how I’m feeling at the moment.
“I am deeply saddened and shocked that someone I trusted would do something like this.”
A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
This is a developing story.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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