Move FM Global News

LOS ANGELES, California: Last week, the former interpreter of Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani was charged with bank fraud and accused of stealing US$16 million to pay off gambling debts.

According to a 36-page criminal complaint and affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Ippei Mizuhara embezzled money from the Los Angeles Dodgers star’s account that he had helped set up.

He allegedly sent the funds without Ohtani’s knowledge to an illegal sports gambling operation.

Announcing the outcomes of his investigation, U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada said at a news conference that there was no evidence that Ohtani, who signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract to join the Dodgers this season as the league’s highest-paid player, being involved in any wrongdoing.

“I want to emphasize this point. Mr. Ohtani was a victim in this case. There is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Ohtani authorized the over $16 million in transfers from his account to the bookmakers,” Estrada said.

The outcome of the investigation spared the Dodgers and Major League Baseball a potential scandal.

During a press conference on March 25, Ohtani, 29, told reporters at a that he was a victim of theft by Mizuhara and that he never bet on baseball or knowingly paid a bookmaker.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said Mizuhara, 39, has agreed to turn himself over to federal authorities and was expected to make his initial court appearance that afternoon.

Mrozek added that he will not be asked to enter a plea and is expected to be released on bond.

If convicted on a single count of bank fraud, Mizuhara could face a prison sentence of up to 30 years.