According to reports, baseball star Shohei Ohtani's interpreter has been stealing huge amounts of money from him to pay off gambling debts.
Although Ippei Mizuhara has been with Shohei Ohtani since the start of his Major League Baseball career in 2018, he was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, not long after Ohtani's first game with the team in the regular season in Seoul.
Shohei Ohtani's Interpreter Accused of Stealing $4.5 Million From Dodgers Star
Shohei Ohtani will sign a historic 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers. This comes after a great six-year run with the Los Angeles Angels.
During his time with the Angels, he made a very good contribute of almost $40 million and a lot of money from endorsements, around nine figures.
The Los Angeles Times discovered new details about Ohtani's role in a federal probe. It looks like Ohtani's lawyers did something after learning that their client was involved with Mizuhara's activities.
According to sources that were not named, the Times said that Ippei Mizuhara stole a huge amount of money, possibly millions of dollars.
Based on reports from ESPN, Mizuhara owed at least $4.5 million. Mizuhara and Ohtani's team gave different accounts of what happened in some talks with ESPN, both before and after the news of the interpreter's firing spread.
Mizuhara initially stated that Ohtani had agreed to settle his debts. Mizuhara confessed to participating in gambling activities related to various sports, excluding baseball, and assured that he would cease such behavior.
However, he chose not to provide any comment following Berk Brettler's statement, which portrayed Ohtani as a victim of theft.
Ohtani, 29, and the Angels brought Mizuhara on board shortly after he joined the club prior to the 2018 season. Ohtani has kept a close-knit group of people around him during his time in MLB, and Mizuhara has been a loyal companion.
Mizuhara has been there to interpret news conferences and mound visits, and has been a supportive presence for Ohtani wherever he goes in a ballpark.
Following Ohtani's signing with the Dodgers, Mizuhara also joined the team, making the move from Anaheim to Los Angeles alongside his fellow countryman.
In his first appearance for the Dodgers, Ohtani took to the field in South Korea with Mizuhara by his side in the dugout. He showcased his skills by hitting two singles, contributing to the team's 5-2 triumph over the San Diego Padres.
Who is Ippei Mizuhara?
Ippei Mizuhara was born in Japan, but his family moved to the Los Angeles area in 1991 so that his father could become a chef.
In eastern Los Angeles County, he graduated from Diamond Bar High School. In 2007, he graduated from the University of California, Riverside.
Following her graduation, Mizuhara got a job with the Boston Red Sox as an interpreter for the talented Japanese pitcher Hideki Okajima. In 2013, he went back to Japan to speak English with players on the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and help them by interpreting. They met for the first time there, and Ohtani joined the team that same year.
If you remember, when Ohtani signed with the Angels in 2017, Mizuhara was brought on to be his special interpreter. ESPN says that Mizuhara earns between $300,000 and $500,000 a year.
ESPN says that Mizuhara changed his account on Wednesday after Ohtani's lawyers said something about him allegedly being a victim of theft. Mizuhara says that Ohtani didn't know about the gambling bills and didn't do any business with bookmakers.
Mizuhara said that by the end of 2022, he had racked up over $1 million in debt, and that his losses only got worse after that.
The MLB gambling policy, prominently displayed in every locker room, strictly forbids players and team employees from engaging in any form of betting, including legal gambling on baseball as well as wagering on other sports through illegal or offshore bookmakers.
Engaging in baseball gambling can result in a one-year suspension from the sport. The punishment for wagering on alternative sports without proper authorization is determined by the commissioner.
Ohtani's fame has reached a global scale, despite his tendency to avoid the media. Fans from Japan to the US were left stunned by the surprising news of his recent marriage to Mamiko Tanaka.
Despite undergoing surgery on his right elbow last September and being unable to pitch this season, there are plans to use him as a designated hitter and there is potential for him to contribute in the field. In his first game, the season opener against the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea, he had a solid performance, going 2 for 5 with an RBI, according to AP News.
