Free Republic

Even the bookie couldn’t believe the bets that Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter was throwing down. In the latest episode of a “30 for 30”-style documentary, “The Betrayal of Shohei Ohtani,” the bookie for Ippei Mizuhara, who pled guilty to stealing millions from Ohtani, admitted to ESPN that even he was dumbfounded by the vast wagers that were being placed. “He was absolutely bananas, the amount of bets he was making,” bookie Matthew Boyer told ESPN in the podcast. “He was trying to dig out a hole, and that hole made him even poorer of a gambler because he’s betting big payout...

Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, is heard impersonating Ohtani to try to get a $200,000 wire transfer approved from Ohtani's bank account in a recording obtained by The Athletic from the Department of Justice.Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges in June, admitting to stealing almost $17 million from Ohtani as he amassed a large gambling debt while working as Ohtani's interpreter with the Angels and Dodgers. According to Mizuhara’s plea agreement, he had placed approximately 24 phone calls in which he impersonated Ohtani.In the audio recording, Mizuhara tells a bank agent over the phone that he...

The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is facing federal charges related to his alleged theft of millions from the slugger, a source with direct knowledge of the investigation confirmed to ESPN late Wednesday. The New York Times was first to report Wednesday that Ippei Mizuhara, 39, is in negotiations to plead guilty and that the investigation is racing toward a conclusion. The probe started just three weeks ago when news broke that at least $4.5 million was transmitted from Ohtani's bank account to a California bookmaker under federal investigation. In the first of a pair of...