Just weeks after Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani opened up regarding the illegal gambling controversy surrounding his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, the Department of Justice has announced Mizuhara is being charged with bank fraud.
Even more shocking than the entirety of the story that Mizuhara was stealing money from Ohtani is the DOJ revealed in a press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday that the former interpreter had allegedly stolen over $16 million from Ohtani.
Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was charged with bank fraud for transferring more than $16 million from Ohtani’s account to an alleged illegal sports book, according to federal authorities.
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) April 11, 2024
A report from Noah Camras on X reads, “Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was charged with bank fraud for transferring more than $16 million from Ohtani’s account to an alleged illegal sports book, according to federal authorities.”
There were numerous rumors and accusations thrown at Ohtani about the gambling, however, Ohtani addressed the media on March 25 and stated through his new interpreter, Will Ireton, that, “Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies.”
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
These lies appear to have now been confirmed by the DOJ, as they held a press conference detailing what has transpired from Mizuhara’s years of siphoning money from Ohtani’s personal bank account.
United States Attorney E. Martin Estrada of the Central District of California said Mizuhara helped Ohtani set up his bank account in 2018. In 2021, he began making bets to an illegal bookmaker.
Over time, Mizuhara began to place larger bets, and ended up placing thousands of wagers. The bets, however, did not appear to be placed on the sport of baseball.
Mizuhara had familiarity with the bank account he stole from, as he was the one who helped Ohtani to set it up. That gave him “unique” access to Ohtani’s funds, and he “used that position of trust to use and abuse Mr. Ohtani.”
Estrada also stated “I want to emphasize this point: Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case. There is no evidence Mr. Ohtani authorized the over $16 million of transfers.” Estrada indicated that Mizuhara had even impersonated Ohtani when making bank transfers over the phone. He also admitted to the bookmaker that he was stealing from Ohtani.
“MIZUHARA messaged BOOKMAKER 1 stating, “Have you seen the reports?” BOOKMAKER 1 responded, “Yes, but that’s all bullshit. Obviously you didn’t steal from him. I understand it’s a cover job .. MIZUHARA then responded, “Technically I did steal from him. it’s all over for me.” “
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) April 11, 2024
As for the investigation, Estrada said it was “thorough,” involving thousands of interviews: “We reviewed both Mr. Mizuhara’s and Mr. Ohtani’s phones, and their communications over time over several years using a Japanese linguist, and that review has demonstrated no discussion of betting, wagers, or authorization of transfers to bookmakers.”
Estrada finished by stating: “We allege in the complaint, that Mr. Mizuhara committed fraud on a massive scale… We understood there was a significant amount of public interest in this case. I want to emphasize that while we were able to work on this case rapidly, it was a very thorough investigation.”
Mr. Mizuhara is expected to make an appearance in court in the coming days.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.