Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani, was fired after an allegation of stealing millions of dollars to pay debts owed to an illegal bookmaker.
Following the news, on Wednesday Tim Arango and Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times reported, citing three people, Mizuhara is “in negotiations to plead guilty to federal crimes in connection with the purported theft.”
Ippei Mizuhara is in negotiations to plead guilty to federal crimes in connection with the alleged theft of Shohei Ohtani's money, per @nytmike pic.twitter.com/qQPw0uuFSw
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 11, 2024
Tim Arando and Michael S. Schmidt of the Times wrote:
“Those briefed on the matter claim that prosecutors have uncovered evidence that Mizuhara may have stolen more money from Ohtani than the $4.5 million he was initially accused of pilfering, the people said. In particular, the authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani’s bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions, the three people said.”
Mizuhara pleading guilty before a federal judge per the reports is likely to include an admission of a range of facts related to any illegal conduct. He could confirm what Ohtani had shared with reporters two weeks ago, claiming did not know what happened to the money.
Ohtani said in a statement back in March,
“I never bet on baseball or any other sports, or never have asked somebody to do that on my behalf. And I have never gone through a bookmaker to bet on sports.”
By pleading guilty, it is projected Mizuhara would increase his chances of receiving a more lenient sentence. At times, federal prosecutors and judges often look more favorably upon defendants who make the government’s job easier by expeditiously admitting their guilt.
The Dodgers had fired Mizuhara shortly after reports of the situation emerged during the team’s season-opening series in South Korea in March.
