Federal prosecutors charged Ippei Mizuhara, longtime interpreter and close friend of Shohei Ohtani, with bank fraud Thursday, saying that he stole more than $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star to pay off gambling debts.
The indictment appeared to vindicate Ohtani in the scandal that has dominated sports headlines since the beginning of the baseball season, when the Los Angeles Times and ESPN broke the news that Ohtanis name was on millions of dollars in wire transfers to a suspected illegal bookie, Mathew Bowyer.
In a press conference to announce the charges, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said that a thorough investigation had left no doubt that Ohtani was a victim of his interpreter Mizuhara, 39, who used his position of tru…
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