LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball announced Friday that it has launched an investigation into allegations of involvement as an interpreter for Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, who is at the center of a potential theft and sports betting scandal this week.
MLB said in a statement, “We have been gathering information since learning of the allegations against Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the media.''
MLB's Bureau of Investigation announced Friday that it had begun “a formal process to investigate the matter.” Details of the investigation were not disclosed.
Representatives for Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers did not immediately respond to requests for comment about MLB's investigation on Friday. I sent an email to Mizuhara, but there was no immediate response.
More sports on NBC News
Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers after Ohtani's lawyer, Burke Brettler, announced that Mizuhara was the victim of “grand theft” in a case related to sports gambling.
“The Dodgers are aware of the media reports and are gathering information. The team has confirmed that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has been fired. The team has no further comment at this time,” the statement read earlier Thursday. The team's statement said:
The scandal was first reported by the Los Angeles Times and ESPN on Wednesday. ESPN said Interpreter's firing came after questions from the media about his alleged ties to illegal gambling.
The charges against Mizuhara center specifically on wire transfers from Ohtani's account of at least $500,000 in at least nine payments totaling at least $4.5 million, which are currently under federal investigation and are currently being investigated by the U.S.'s Matthew Bowyer. The money was being sent to a bookbinding business in Southern California that was allegedly run by A person familiar with the exchange between Otani and Suwon in Orange County, California, told NBC News.
Those wire transfers were sent from Ohtani's account to Bowyer's associates, officials said.
According to the person, Mizuhara initially told Otani's personal team that Otani had racked up a large amount of debt due to gambling, prompting Otani to ask for help.
According to sources, Mizuhara was upset and angry at the time because the two-way star player hated gambling, but Otani eventually agreed to pay the debt as long as Mizuhara never gambled again. He is said to have done so.
After the Dodgers faced the San Diego Padres in their season opener in Seoul on Wednesday, Mr. Mizuhara told the team to expect media coverage of his bets, officials said.
According to sources, Otani fully understood Mizuhara's announcement, understood that Mizuhara was referring to gambling, and asked the interpreter for more information.
After a flurry of media interviews, Mizuhara reportedly changed his story and admitted to Otani's agent and agent that his original story was a lie.
Instead, Mizuhara said Ohtani had no knowledge of gambling or debt. According to officials, Mizuhara is suspected of stealing a huge amount of money from Otani for a certain period last year by allowing wire transfers from Otani's account to people involved in the book production business without Otani's participation or knowledge. It is said that there is.
The official said authorities had been formally notified, but did not provide details.
At least four law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's Department, Anaheim Police Department and Newport Beach Police Department, told NBC News they had no records or information regarding any charges or crimes against them. Reports of Ohtani in locations related to where he lives, plays, or has a registered business.
NBC News has reached out to Mizuhara for comment on the allegations.
The two first met in Japan in 2013, when Mizuhara was working as an interpreter for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Japan Professional Baseball League. Nippon.com reported that Ohtani joined the team as a rookie in 2013.
When Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017, he brought Mizuhara on as his personal interpreter.
According to people familiar with the two's interactions, Mizuhara served as more than an interpreter for Otani over the years. He was considered a longtime friend of Ohtani's and served as the baseball star's gatekeeper.
The Dodgers will play preseason games against Ohtani's former team, the Angels, on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Their next regular season game will be against the St. Louis Cardinals on March 28th.
Diana Daslas reported from Los Angeles and Rebecca Cohen from New York City.
