Federal prosecutors have charged Ippei Mizuhara, the since-fired interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, with stealing greater than $16 million from the Dodgers famous person to pay money owed with an allegedly unlawful bookmaker.
The U.S. Legal professional for the Central District of California, Martin Estrada, introduced the cost Thursday at a information convention in downtown Los Angeles.
“Mr. Ohtani is taken into account a sufferer on this case,” Estrada stated.
He stated that Mizuhara impersonated Ohtani in conversations with financial institution officers, positioned 1000’s of wagers and deposited winnings in a checking account the interpreter managed.
“Mr. Mizuhara did all this to feed his insatiable urge for food for unlawful sports activities playing,” Estrada stated.
Mizuhara faces a single rely of financial institution fraud.
Michael Freedman, an L.A.-based felony protection legal professional, confirmed he represents Mizuhara, however has declined additional remark. Mizuhara, a Diamond Bar Excessive College graduate who has been a fixture at Ohtani’s aspect since his first season with the Angels in 2018, didn’t reply to messages.
The cost is the most recent twist in a saga that has transfixed the baseball world since The Instances broke the story on March 20. The newspaper reported that Ohtani’s title had surfaced within the federal investigation of Mathew Bowyer, an allegedly unlawful bookmaker who lives in Orange County. Ohtani’s representatives accused Mizuhara of committing “large theft” of the ballplayer’s cash to position bets with Bowyer’s group.
Bowyer, whose San Juan Capistrano house was raided by federal brokers in October, has not been charged with against the law.
The saga spilled into public view after a number of days of shifting accounts behind the scenes concerning the episode. The Instances first requested remark from Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, on March 15, then Matthew Hiltzik, a New York-based disaster public relations supervisor, contacted the newspaper a day in a while behalf of the ballplayer. The publicist finally stated Ohtani had no remark.
Whereas the Dodgers ready to open their season towards the San Diego Padres in Seoul, ESPN later reported, an Ohtani spokesman advised the outlet that the cash got here from Ohtani to cowl Mizuhara’s playing money owed. ESPN performed a prolonged interview with Mizuhara on March 19 that was organized by the spokesman. Mizuhara claimed Ohtani had paid his playing money owed.
The spokesman quickly disavowed the account, in response to ESPN, and changed it with the allegation that Mizuhara stole the cash by wire transfers.
Close to the top of the Dodgers’ season-opening win over the Padres in a recreation that began at 3 a.m. Pacific time on March 20, a tv digicam captured Ohtani and Mizuhara laughing within the dugout.
Earlier than the clubhouse opened to the media after the sport, a number of Dodger executives addressed the crew together with Mizuhara. In response to a number of folks with data of the assembly, the interpreter stated he had a playing drawback and Ohtani paid off his money owed final 12 months.
In feedback made throughout a information convention in L.A. a number of days later, Ohtani described in Japanese what occurred after the clubhouse assembly: “We returned to the resort and Ippei spoke to me for the primary time and that’s once I realized he had an enormous debt. That’s when he advised me he accessed my checking account and made funds to a bookmaker. I assumed that was unusual, so I known as my representatives.”
The West Hollywood legislation agency representing Ohtani, Berk Brettler, issued the “large theft” assertion” and stated, “we’re turning the matter over to the authorities.” The Dodgers rapidly fired Mizuhara.
Two days later, Main League Baseball introduced an investigation. The league’s guidelines prohibit “any participant, umpire, or Membership or League official or worker” from betting on the sport or making unlawful bets on different sports activities.
Throughout the information convention March 25, Ohtani alleged that Mizuhara stored him at the hours of darkness concerning the media inquiries: “Ippei didn’t inform me such reporting was happening. … Ippei advised everybody, together with my agent, that I made funds not on behalf of Ippei, however on behalf of one other pal.” Ohtani stated it was a “full lie” that he paid Mizuhara’s playing money owed and denied betting on sports activities.
“I personally have by no means guess on something or guess for anybody on a sporting occasion, or requested somebody to guess for me, and I’ve by no means requested anybody to ship cash to a bookmaker from my checking account,” Ohtani stated.
He added: “The conclusion is that he was mendacity to everybody, together with everybody round me.”
Ohtani’s unparalleled excellence as a hitter and pitcher remodeled him into a global icon and led to a 10-year, $700-million free-agent contract with the Dodgers in December. The deal is the most important in baseball historical past, although many of the cash is deferred till after the contract ends.
However the previous couple of weeks have thrust Ohtani into the center of a world storm that has nothing to do with baseball.
“Actually, I don’t suppose shock is the fitting phrase,” he stated final month. “I’ve spent the final week in one thing past that, which I can’t specific in phrases.”
Instances employees writers Matt Hamilton and Adam Elmahrek contributed to this report.
