The depth of the deception orchestrated by Shohei Otani’s former interpreter has been revealed.
Ippei Mizuhara allegedly stole at least $4.5 million by changing Ohtani’s bank settings so that the Dodgers two-way phenom would not receive notifications about the trade, an amount that was larger than originally thought. It is said that there is a possibility that there are many. According to the New York Times.
The report said millions of dollars helped cover losses from illegal gambling, and Mizuhara is in talks to plead guilty to the charges.
These details that Otani was unaware of the movement of money due to Mizuhara’s alleged nefarious tactics would be consistent with Otani’s claim that he was the victim of grand theft.
Otani’s camp first told ESPN Mizuhara told his version that Otani was transferring funds to compensate for gambling losses, and that the money was transferred through an illegal bookmaker in California, where gambling is illegal. A person “disavowed” the interpreter’s version and claimed that he stole the money.
“In the course of responding to recent media interviews, we discovered that Shohei was the victim of grand theft and have decided to refer this matter to the authorities,” Burke Brettler said in a statement. .
Mizuhara was initially accused of stealing at least $4.5 million, but a new report in the New York Times says the actual figure may be higher.
Ohtani later told reporters that his former interpreter had been stealing money from him and that he had never bet on sports or sent money to bookmakers.
Otani said on March 25, “I didn’t know anything like this was happening until a few days ago. Ippei stole money from my account and lied to me.”
He added: “I am extremely saddened and shocked that someone I trusted would do something like this.”
What you need to know about Shohei Otani’s accusations against his former interpreter
A lawyer representing Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has accused former interpreter and longtime friend Ippei Mizuhara of “grand theft” in connection with a $4.5 million bombing.
After signing a 10-year, $700 million contract this offseason with the Angels, the two-time AL MVP reportedly had huge gambling debts that needed to be repaid.
Mizuhara initially said ESPN Ohtani had offered to repay the debt, but later changed his story and claimed he had no knowledge of the Eight-Nine wire transfer from Ohtani’s account to the alleged illegal bookmaker.
According to ESPN, the Ohtani camp “denied” Mizuhara’s initial story.
Ohtani was fired shortly after the Dodgers’ season opener against the Padres in Seoul, South Korea, and although Ohtani’s camp is seeking a law enforcement investigation following an investigation by the National Tax Agency, Ohtani has not yet spoken publicly about the situation. .
“I’ve never bet on baseball,” Mizuhara told ESPN. “That’s 100 percent. We knew that rule. … We’re going to have a meeting in spring training about that.”
Both sides maintain that Ohtani is not involved in any gambling.
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The Times reported that Mr. Mizuhara’s guilty plea to a federal judge “may support” Mr. Otani’s interpretation and is “likely to include” an admission of misconduct.
The report states that if he pleads guilty to the charges, he would be more likely to receive a “more lenient sentence.”
According to reports, Ohtani’s camp reported the robbery charges to federal authorities and that Ohtani recently spoke with authorities about the incident.
Otani and Mizuhara had not yet been charged with a crime as of Thursday morning.
In this drama, Otani continues to perform like an MVP.
Entering Thursday, he was batting .333 with three home runs, eight RBIs and a 1.012 OPS for the Dodgers, who lead the National League West.
