'MASSIVE THEFT'
Ohtani's interpreter fired after being accused of stealing millions from star to gamble
Lawyers for the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani have accused his interpreter of perpetrating a “massive theft” of the superstar’s money to place bets with an illegal bookmaker.
The alleged theft by interpreter Ippei Mizuhara totaled “in the millions of dollars,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Ohtani’s lawyers made these claims to the outlet after it had been discovered that the star’s name had come up amid an investigation into alleged illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who lives in Orange County, California.
After the outlet reached out to Ohtani, who is in Seoul, Korea for a season-opening series against the Padres, his representatives looked into the actions of Mizuhara.
“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,” the West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler told The Post in a statement.
Mizuhara, who allegedly placed bets with an associate of Bowyer, was fired by the Dodgers, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed.
After the Times published its story, things got a little murkier with a report from ESPN.
A spokesman for Ohtani told the outlet that the superstar had transferred $4.5 million to Bowyer to cover Mizuhara’s debt and made Mizuhara available to detail what had happened.
The story took a turn, however, when Ohtani’s spokesperson then “disavowed” what Mizuhara had said, and Ohtani’s lawyers sent the same statement to ESPN that had been sent to the Times.
The ESPN report emphasized that Ohtani does not gamble, and that Mizuhara’s wagers were placed on sports like international soccer and not on baseball.
“Mr. Bowyer never met or spoke with Shohei Ohtani,” Bowyer’s attorney, Diane Bass, said to
ESPN, and declined to field further questions.
“Obviously, he [Ohtani] wasn’t happy about it and said he would help me out to make sure I never do this again,” Mizuhara said in a statement to ESPN. “He decided to pay it off for me.
“I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again.”
Mizuhara later changed his story, saying that Ohtani had no knowledge of his bets and that he did not initiate the transfer.
Ohtani signed a blockbuster 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers this past offseason, though $680 million of it is deferred until the end of the deal.
He played his first six MLB seasons with the Angels, winning two American League MVP awards as the best two-way player since Babe Ruth.
Mizuhara was also Ohtani’s interpreter with the Angels.
Ohtani will not pitch this season as he recovers from elbow surgery, but he hopes to return to the mound in future years.
Before the start of this season, Ohtani revealed that he had married Japanese basketball player Mamiko Tanaka.