Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter is in the crosshairs of the feds.
Ippei Mizuhara, who was fired by the Dodgers in March after being accused of stealing millions of Ohtani’s money to cover sports gambling debts, is “in negotiations” to plead guilty to federal crimes, according to a New York Times report on Wednesday.
TMZ, citing law enforcement sources, reported that Ohtani was the victim of fraud and had no knowledge of the scheme that cost at least $4.5 million of the Dodgers superstar’s money.
According to the Times, the investigation — run by the Los Angeles offices of the IRS’ criminal division, the Department of Homeland Security along with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California — is nearly over.
It found that Mizuhara may have changed the settings on bank accounts so the two-time MVP would not get any notifications about transactions being made.
The former Dodgers interpreter also may have stolen even more than the $4.5 million that had originally been thought to have been part of the alleged theft, the Times reported.
According to TMZ, Mizuhara is expected to face charges in the coming days, though it is not clear what specific crimes he will be charged with.
The alleged theft by Mizuhara came to light during MLB’s opening games in Seoul, South Korea, which saw Ohtani and the Dodgers take on the Padres.
The Los Angeles Times reported on March 20 that Ohtani was the victim of the alleged theft by Mizuhara that totaled in the millions.
ESPN, shortly thereafter, reported that Mizuhara was made available to the outlet by Ohtani’s representatives and gave his account, saying Ohtani had paid the money to cover the interpreter’s gambling debts to alleged illegal California bookmaker Mathew Bowyer.
However, Ohtani’s representatives soon “disavowed” what Mizuhara had said, saying that Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling nor Mizuhara’s debts.
“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 on March 20.
Mizuhara, who had worked in the United States with Ohtani since the two-way player signed with the Angels in 2018, was promptly fired by the Dodgers, and Will Ireton replaced him as Ohtani’s interpreter.
Amid the scandal, key parts of Mizuhara’s biography — which was featured in the Angels’ media guide — came into question, with the Red Sox denying he ever worked for the team and the University of California, Riverside saying it had no record of him attending the school.
Ohtani has denied betting on sports or having knowledge of what Mizuhara had done.
“All of this has been a complete lie,” Ohtani said at a press conference through his new interpreter five days after the story first broke.
“Up until a couple of days ago, I did not know this was happening,” Ohtani said through his new interpreter, Will Ireton. “Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.
“I do want to make it clear that I never bet on sports or have willfully sent money to the bookmaker.”
Ohtani’s camp had previously said it had reached out to authorities once it had learned of the alleged theft, though it was unclear which authorities were involved.
Per the New York Times, Ohtani has been interviewed in the case over his relationship with Mizuhara.
At the end of March, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred opened up about the league’s probe into the alleged crimes, saying he hoped it would be a “short” investigation.
“Given the way the story unfolded, it’s important in terms of assuring our fans about the integrity of the game that we verify the things that Mr. Ohtani has said, and it’s really that simple,” Manfred said.
Ohtani signed a massive 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers this offseason.
He has a .333/.369/.650 OPS with three homers in his first 14 games with his new team.
