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LA Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani appears to be off the hook in the wake of a gambling scandal involving his former interpreter.
We are learning Thursday afternoon that his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, now faces a federal charge of bank fraud after allegedly stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani, a US attorney in Los Angeles announced Thursday.
The story initially came to light after Mizuhara was accused of wiring $4.5 million to a bookie from Ohtani's bank account. There was some question as to whether Ohtani and Mizuhara were somehow in cahoots. Mizhura ended up fired and accused of "massive theft" but nobody knew until now just how "massive" that theft really was.
US Attorney Martin Estrada said Mizuhara made unauthorized transfers from Ohtani’s bank account from November 2021 until January 2024.
Mizuhara used his close relationship with Ohtani – someone whom he accompanied on a constant basis due to the Japanese star’s limited understanding of English – to fuel his gambling addiction, a statement from the US attorney’s office said.
The US Attorney made it pretty clear that Ohtani is the victim in this case, lacking any knowledge as to what had transpired.
“Our investigation has revealed that due to the position of trust he occupied with Mr. Ohtani, Mr. Mizuhara had unique access to Mr. Ohtani’s finances,” Estrada said. “Mr. Mizuhara used and abused that position of trust in order to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani.”
If found guilty, Mizuhara faces up to 30 years in prison.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
