It appears more clarity is arriving soon in the controversial fallout of Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani who allegedly stole millions of dollars from the two-way superstar.
Tim Arango and Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing three people briefed in the matter, that Mizuhara is “in negotiations to plead guilty to federal crimes in connection with the purported theft.”
Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers shortly after reports of the situation emerged during the team’s season-opening series in South Korea in March. In an ESPN report, Mizuhara admitted to racking up gambling debts on sports other than baseball with a bookmaker, and claimed Ohtani wired him payments to cover up the debts. But the next day, Mizuhara told ESPN that Ohtani had no knowledge of his gambling debts. Ohtani’s lawyers stated their client was a victim of “massive theft.”
The ever-changing stories raised eyebrows around MLB.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to do that on my behalf,” Ohtani said in a statement back in March. “And I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports.”
The New York Times also reported there is evidence that Mizuhara stole more money from Ohtani than the initial accusation of $4.5 million. Authorities believe Mizuhara changed settings on Ohtani’s bank account so the Dodgers star wouldn’t receive notifications for any withdrawals.
Mizuhara pleading guilty could confirm Ohtani’s story that he didn’t know the interpreter was stealing from his bank account.
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