Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Dodgers famous person Shohei Ohtani, has agreed to plead responsible in federal court docket to stealing thousands and thousands of {dollars} from Ohtani to cowl playing money owed, in keeping with the U.S. Division of Justice.
The 39-year-old Japanese-language interpreter has reached a plea deal for one depend every of financial institution fraud and subscribing to a federal tax return, the Justice Division stated. Mizuhara faces as much as 33 years in federal jail for the 2 crimes, which authorities allege he dedicated as a part of a scheme to surreptitiously steal greater than $17 million from Ohtani to repay an Orange County bookmaker.
The blockbuster March revelation that the Dodgers had fired Mizuhara amid an investigation into claims he had stolen Ohtani’s cash and gambled on sports activities shocked the baseball world. Final month, federal authorities cleared Ohtani of wrongdoing in reference to the scheme, quieting widespread hypothesis in regards to the potential fallout of the scandal for his baseball profession and potential prison expenses.
Mizuhara has not but formally entered a plea, in keeping with Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesman for the DOJ. McEvoy stated Wednesday he expects Mizuhara to “plead responsible within the coming weeks.”
“The extent of this defendant’s deception and theft is very large,” U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada stated in a information launch. “He took benefit of his place of belief to make the most of Mr. Ohtani and gasoline a harmful playing behavior. My workplace is dedicated to vindicating victims all through our neighborhood and making certain that wrongdoers face justice.”
