The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has pleaded guilty in federal court on charges related to the theft of nearly $17 million from the player to cover gambling debts.
On Tuesday at a federal courthouse in Orange County, Calif., Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud and falsifying a tax return as part of a plea deal with prosecutors reached last month.
For six years, Mizuhara had worked as Ohtani’s interpreter and personal assistant after the elite two-way star left his home country of Japan to join the MLB’s Los Angeles Angels in 2018.
But in 2021, Mizuhara became entangled in sports gambling. Prosecutors say the interpreter ultimately stole millions of dollars from Ohtani’s accounts t…
Read the full article at: https://health.wusf.usf.edu/2024-06-04/shohei-ohtanis-ex-interpreter-pleads-guilty-to-charges-related-to-gambling-and-theft