Lee Jin Man/AP
Ippei Mizuhara (left), who serves as an interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (right), was fired from the team last week.
CNN
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Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to address the media on Monday as Major League Baseball investigates theft charges against a former interpreter.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Sunday: “I'm glad he's willing to talk. I want him to tell me what he knows and give his thoughts on the whole situation.” “I think this will give us a little more clarity.”
Roberts said this before the Dodgers defeated Ohtani's former team, the Los Angeles Angels, 5-3. The teams will meet again on Monday at Dodger Stadium.
According to ESPN and the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the story, Ohtani's longtime Japanese interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was arrested in a federal investigation by Ohtani's lawyers accusing him of “grand theft” of millions of dollars. He was fired after being accused of betting with a bookmaker.
The scandal has cast a shadow over the start of MLB's new season, cast doubt on the public's understanding of one of baseball's biggest stars, and brought new scrutiny to professional sports' close ties to gambling.
A lawyer for Matthew Bowyer, a former bookmaker under federal investigation for gambling-related matters, said he had never met Ohtani or had any “direct contact” with him, but that he had done business with Mizuhara.
“Matthew Bowyer has never spoken to, emailed, texted or otherwise had any contact with Shohei Ohtani,” attorney Diane Bass told CNN in an on-camera interview Saturday. .
The lawyer also said Ohtani's interpreter never bet on baseball.
MLB and the Internal Revenue Service are conducting separate investigations into interpreters.
“Major League Baseball has been gathering information since learning of the allegations regarding Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the media,” the league said in a news release. last week. “Early today, our Bureau of Investigation began a formal investigation into this matter.”
The IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office is investigating both Mizuhara and Bowyer, IRS spokesman Scott Billiard told CNN on Friday. Mr. Bowyer is a California resident who racked up $425,000 in gambling debts more than a decade ago, according to bankruptcy court documents.
According to MLB.com, Ohtani and Mizuhara first worked together from 2013 to 2017, when Mizuhara served as an interpreter for Ohtani's Japan Professional Baseball League team, the Nippon-Ham Fighters. When Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, he asked Mizuhara to serve as a translator during his rookie season, and Mizuhara ultimately followed the star to the Dodgers, CNN previously reported.
ESPN's Tisha Thompson quotes multiple statements. An anonymous source told CNN's “The Read” on Wednesday that at least $4.5 million was withdrawn by wire transfer from Ohtani's bank account, although it's unclear who initiated the transfer.
CNN has reached out to Mizuhara and Ohtani's representatives for comment. Ohtani's lawyers have not elaborated on how they believe the funds were stolen, raising questions about the scandal that surfaced during Ohtani's long-awaited debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
03:03 – Source: CNN
MLB begins investigation into Otani allegations
Bowyer's lawyer, Bass, told CNN that her client had done business with Ippei Mizuhara.
When discussing Ohtani's name on “one of the wire transfers to cover the stakes to Mr. Bowyer's organization,” Bass said Saturday, “As far as Mr. Bowyer understands, the stakes were from Ippei. Either it was something, or Mr. Ohtani was covering it for Ippei.” ”
Bass emphasized that Bowyer is under federal investigation but has not been charged with a crime. He said Bowyer ceased his bookbinding business in October 2023 after “federal authorities showed up at his home.”
Bass said Bowyer met Mizuhara after a Padres game in San Diego in 2022. She told CNN that she did not know how often or how much Mizuhara bet, but that Bowyer told her that Mizuhara regularly bet on “mostly soccer, sometimes football and basketball.” He reportedly said it wasn't baseball.
“I've never bet on baseball…that's 100 percent,” Mizuhara told ESPN on Tuesday. I knew that rule. …We're going to have a meeting in spring training about that. ”
Bass said Mizuhara's gambling “got out of control at some point” but that he “was making regular payments over a considerable period of time.”
When asked whether the payment came from Mizuhara's account or Otani's account, Basu said, “To be honest, I don't know how many times the money was transferred from which account, (or) if it came from multiple accounts.'' I don't know.'' I don't have access to that information,” she told CNN.
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The controversy began when reporters asked questions about alleged wire transfers from Ohtani's bank account. Here's how the scandal unfolded.
• Mizuhara told ESPN in a Tuesday interview arranged by Ohtani's agent that he asked Ohtani to pay off gambling debts last year, according to a report by ESPN. Mizuhara said Otani was not involved in his betting.
• However, after the interview, Otani's publicist issued a statement denying Mizuhara's testimony and saying that Otani had been the victim of theft.
• The same day, Mizuhara smiles and chats with Ohtani in the Los Angeles dugout before interpreting for the team's star player in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres in the MLB season opener in Seoul, South Korea. I was seen.
• Late Wednesday, Mizuhara was fired as Otani's interpreter.
• After learning of the suspicions surrounding Ohtani and Mizuhara, MLB announced on Friday that it would proceed with an investigation. The IRS also confirmed that it is investigating the translator.
