Ippei Mizuharahe former interpreter of baseball star Shohei Ohtani He agreed to plead guilty to the charges against him after being accused of stealing almost $17 million from the Dodgers player to pay for bets, as reported this Wednesday by the Californian justice system.
“Ippei Mizuhara, 39, of Newport Beach, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of bank fraud that carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison federal, and a charge for signing a false tax return, which carries a sentence of up to three years in a federal prison,” reported the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Ohtani’s former interpreter will officially plead guilty in the coming weeks and his arraignment for the betting scandal is set for May 14, according to the same source.
“The level of deception and theft is enormous. “He used his position of trust to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani and to feed his dangerous gambling habit,” said prosecutor Martín Estrada.
“Our joint investigation with Homeland Security Investigations clearly showed that Not only did he steal money from Ohtani, he also lied to the IRS about his income.”said Tyler Hatcher, special agent in charge of this case.
“In cases where we can identify those responsible, we do everything we can to make things right for the victims, and this is one of them,” he concluded.
On April 12, Ohtani’s former Japanese interpreter turned himself in to authorities after facing criminal charges of bank fraud for having stolen nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay for illegal bets.
According to the version presented by federal prosecutors in California, Mizuhara, who acted not only as a translator but also as Ohtani’s de facto agent, transferred the money without the Japanese player’s consent or knowledge.
The Justice Department made it clear that during an interview with federal agents last week Ohtani “denied having authorized the bank transfers to Mizuhara.”
“Ohtani provided his cell phone to law enforcement, who determined that there was no evidence to suggest that Ohtani was aware of or involved in Mizuhara’s illegal gambling activity or the payment of those debts,” he added.
The transfers occurred regularly between November 2021 and January 2024. In September 2021, Mizuhara had begun engaging in illegal gambling and losing large amounts of money.
*With information from EFE.
Keep reading:
· Shohei Ohtani’s extractor stole more than $16 million from him to pay debts from 19,000 bets, authorities say
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