Japanese baseballer Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter has been accused of stealing more than $16m (£12.75m) from the Los Angeles Dodgers star to cover gambling debts.
Ippei Mizuhara is charged with bank fraud after allegedly stealing the funds from an account of Ohtani that he helped to set up.
According to the US Attorney for the Central District of California, E. Martin Estrada, those funds were sent to an illegal sports gambling operation.
The money was allegedly stolen over a two-year period from an account where Ohtani – who signed a record $700m contract to join the LA Dodgers this season – received his salary.
Investigators have not found any evidence to suggest Mizuhara placed bets on baseball games, according to Mr Estrada.
Ohtani, who is considered a victim and is not accused of any wrongdoing, said last month he felt “betrayed” by Mizuhara, who was a close friend.
Shohei Ohtani. Pic: Reuters
“I’m very saddened and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this,” Ohtani said at a news conference in Los Angeles on 25 March.
“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.”
Mizuhara began gambling with an illegal sports book and losing substantial sums in late 2021, according to a legal document on Thursday.
He repeatedly impersonated Ohtani to “trick and deceive” bank employees into authorising wire transfers, the papers state.
They add that on or about 20 March, while messaging a bookmaker about reports he had stolen from Ohtani, Mizuhara wrote “technically I did steal from him, it’s all over for me”.
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Mizuhara met Ohtani, who did not know English, in 2013 and helped him to set up a bank account shortly after he arrived in the US in 2018, Mr Estrada said.
He added Mizuhara had an “insatiable appetite for illegal sports gambling” and accessed Ohtani’s bank account online.
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Bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and Mizuhara is expected to make his first court appearance in the near future.
Mizuhara’s lawyer, Michael Freedman, said his client had no comment on the charge.
