Ippei Mizuhara Charged W/ Felony After Allegedly Stealing $16 Mil From Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani‘s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has simply been charged with a felony … after federal prosecutors say they found he stole almost $20 million from the MLB celebrity to, partially, repay his huge playing money owed.

America Division of Justice simply introduced the submitting … saying at a information convention in Los Angeles on Thursday they had been formally hitting Mizuhara with one rely of financial institution fraud.

Prosecutors say he faces a most of as much as 30 years in jail if convicted.

Based on the DOJ, an investigation into allegations that Mizuhara had stolen from Ohtani revealed Ippei snatched among the Dodgers star’s funds by way of an account he had helped the two-way participant arrange again in 2018.

Authorities say Mizuhara illegally accessed the account after amassing a playing debt. They mentioned he then wired transfers from it totaling round $16 million to bookmakers. They added that from January 2024 to March 2024, he additionally used the account to purchase roughly $325,000 value of baseball playing cards.

The DOJ mentioned throughout its investigation, they discovered Ohtani had no information of what was happening.

“In an interview last week with law enforcement,” the feds mentioned in a press release, “Ohtani denied authorizing Mizuhara’s wire transfers. Ohtani provided his cellphone 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 payment of those debts.”

Prosecutors mentioned they imagine Mizuhara by no means made any bets on baseball.

For Ohtani’s half, he is been adamant all through this complete course of that he dedicated no wrongdoing … saying in a press convention final month, “I’m very saddened and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this.”