As the news came out this spring, former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, Ippei Mizuhara, has been accused of stealing roughly $17 million dollars from the Dodgers' superstar, in which he used the money to make illegal sports bets.
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39-year-old, Ippei is also accused of bank and tax fraud, in addition to stealing the money, however, some still think that Ohtani was above suspicion. When the news first broke, it was first reported that federal authorities found wire transfers of $500,000 from Ohtani's bank account to illegal sports betting operations, so the big question was, how could the baseball player, who is known for being financially frugal, let that much money be taken from under his nose?
Former NBA referee, Tim Donaghy, who knows a thing or two about betting, as he went to prison for 11 months after admitting that he bet on games in which he officiated during multiple seasons throughout the early 2000s.
Donaghy, while being interviewed on OutKick's "Hot Mic with Hutton and Withrow, was asked if he thought Ohtani was totally unaware of Ippei's gambling.
"Heck no," the former NBA ref stated. "I think Major League Baseball was smart to sweep this under the rug as quickly as possible. You look at that guy, and what he's done for baseball globally and the fans he's attracted around the world... The last thing they want is for him to be somebody who's involved in betting on his own games and maybe doing things that he wasn't supposed to do."
So this then brought up the next more pressing issue at hand; Did Ohtani or his translator have any kind of involvement in betting on baseball or, even more impermissible, his own games?
Donaghy was asked this, in which he responded, "I think absolutely, when you look at the amount of bets he was placing, obviously he had some type of addiction. It's not like he could just turn it off when he had baseball seasons. There's no doubt in my mind that he not only bet on baseball, he bet on Ohtani's game, and I think Ohtani was right there with him knowing what he was doing."
To avoid any correlation to his involvement with the gambling, Ohtani held a press conference before the start of the MLB season, in which he bluntly said he never had bet on sports. Furthermore, he refuted Mizuhara's claim that he was voluntarily helping pay off the massive gambling debt, calling his former interpreter's story a "complete lie."
"I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to do that on my behalf," Ohtani spoke through his new translator. "And never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports."
The Dodgers designated hitter went on to say, "I'm very saddened and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this."
With that being said, in regards to Shohei's claims, it is important to note translators of MLB players do handle the day-to-day tasks for the foreign players, and often times have access to their bank accounts. Being that, authorities said Ippei was the one who helped Ohtani create his account in the first place, back in 2018. However, Ippei took advantage of this privilege, as he reportedly impersonated his client many times over the phone, in order to wire money from Ohtani's account, in attempt to pay off the gambling debts.
The MLB and Dodgers certainly have many reasons to accept Ohtani's statement at face value, as they did not want to have to suspend or ban the highest market value player in the league. The Japanese-born player is currently the highest paid player in the league, after signing a 10-year $300 million deal this past offseason. Important to keep in mind, Ohtani is not only the best player in Major League Baseball, he attracts a whole global Asian market.
Donaghy said, "I think they were very smart to get that under the rug as quickly as possible and say that he had nothing to do with it, and basically have this other guy take the fall for everything."
With this in mind, Donaghy wasn't the only one who believed that Ohtani was not totally innocent, as the MLB's all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, who is well-known to have gambled his way out of the Hall of Fame, made a comment on the situation.
"Well, back in the '70s and '80s, I wish I'd have had an interpreter. I'd be scot-free," Rose said.
With all the allegations and media coverage going on to start the season, Ohtani certainly hasn't let it affect his game, as he is currently batting .354 (2nd-best in MLB), with 11 Home Runs (4th-best), with a league leading OPS of 1.081, through 41 games this season.
On the other hand, when looking at Ippei's gambling number statistics, he certainly was swinging for the fences as well, not as a batter, but as a "bettor." According to investigators, from December 2021 to January 2024, he placed around 19,000 bets which equals out to about 25 per day, including an average of $12,800 per bet, ranging as high as $160,000, as stated in the affidavit.
Mizuhara won a total of $142,256,769.74 with his bets, but lost $182,935,206.68, which equals out to be a net balance of negative $40,678,436.94.
According to NBCLA, Ippei will appear in court and is expected to enter a 'not guilty' plea at first, but it is likely a formality, as he has been negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors, in which he will later enter into an agreement to plead 'guilty.' Involved in this, he will claim that he will repay the debt owed to Ohtani, restitution of $16,975,010.
Ippei is facing a 33-year prison sentence, so it's certainly in his best interest to try to get a plea deal, where the prosecutors will seemingly get evidence against the big illegal gambling bookies in exchange for Ippei serving a lesser prison sentence.
Related: Former Shohei Ohtani Translator Accused of Sending Stolen Cash To 'Real Houswives' Star'
