Shohei Ohtani was victim of fraud, ex-interpreter expected to plead guilty to federal crimes

MLB

By Andrew Battifarano

Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter is in the crosshairs of the feds.

Ippei Mizuhara, who was fired by the Dodgers in March after being accused of stealing millions of Ohtani’s money to cover sports gambling debts, is expected to plead guilty to federal crimes, according to a New York Times report on Wednesday.

TMZ, citing law enforcement sources, reported that Ohtani was the victim of fraud and had no knowledge of the scheme that cost at least $4.5 million of the Dodgers superstar’s money.

According to the Times, the investigation run by the Los Angeles offices of the IRS’ criminal division, the Department of Homeland Security and with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California and is nearly over, found that Mizhuhara may have changed the settings on bank accounts so the two-time MVP would not get any notifications about transactions being made.

The alleged theft by Mizuhara came to light during MLB’s opening games in Seoul, South Korea, which saw Ohtani and the Dodgers take on the Padres.

The Los Angeles Times reported on March 20 that Ohtani was the victim of the alleged theft by Mizuhara that totaled in the millions.

ESPN, shortly thereafter, reported that Mizhuara had given the outlet an account of what had happened, saying that Ohtani had paid the money to cover the interpreter’s gambling debts to alleged illegal California bookmaker Mathew Bowyer.

Mizuhara had worked in the United States with Ohtani since the two-way player signed with the Angels in 2018.

According to TMZ, Mizuhara is expected to face charges in the coming days.

This is a developing story