Current location:sport >>
Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter is negotiating guilty plea with federal investigators: NY Times
sport68People have gathered around
IntroductionShohei Ohtani's former interpreter negotiating guilty plea with investigators: NYT 01:05 ...
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, is said to be negotiating a guilty plea with federal investigators, according to a report from The New York Times.
The investigation, which began about three weeks ago after attorneys for Ohtani claimed that Mizuhara had engaged in "massive theft" of Ohtani's money to cover sports gambling debts with an illegal bookmaker, is a collaborative effort between the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, the Internal Revenue Service's criminal division and the Department of Homeland Security, the Times said.
They say that the investigation is "rapidly nearing a conclusion."
"Those briefed on the matter claim that prosecutors have uncovered evidence that Mizuhara may have stolen more money from Ohtani than the $4.5 million he was initially accused of pilfering," said NYT's report, which cites three people who have been briefed on the situation. "In particular, the authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani's bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions, the three people said."
They say that by his quickly pleading guilty, he faces heightened odds of a less severe sentence.
Michael Freedman, the attorney representing Mizuhara, said that they have no comment on the matter when reached by CBS News.
Related: MLB launches investigation into gambling allegations surrounding Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter
Mizuhara was fired in March after news of the allegations made headlines while the team was in South Korea for the Seoul Series, which opened MLB's season.
Before they fired him, he addressed the entire Dodgers team in the locker room following their first game to speak on his gambling addiction and that Ohtani had what he owed.
The Times says that Ohtani, who is not fluent in English, did not fully understand the message at the time, but was able to pick up on the gist of the conversation. He confronted Mizuhara once they arrived at the team hotel, at which point he learned that the money was stolen from him.
Mizuhara has previously told ESPN's Tisha Thompson that Ohtani was aware of the debt, and that while disappointed, he would pay them off. That story quickly changed before the Worldwide Leader in Sports was able to publish the piece, with Mizuhara instead saying that Ohtani had no knowledge of the situation and was not responsible for the money transfers to the bookmaker.
"Initially, a spokesman for Ohtani told ESPN the slugger had transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara's gambling debt. The spokesman presented Mizuhara to ESPN for a 90-minute interview Tuesday night, during which Mizuhara laid out his account in great detail," Thompson wrote. "However, as ESPN prepared to publish the story Wednesday, the spokesman disavowed Mizuhara's account and said Ohtani's lawyers would issue a statement."
In a press conference days after the allegations came to light, Ohtani claimed that he has never bet on baseball or any other sport.
"I do want to make it clear I never bet on sports or have willfully sent money to the bookmaker," Ohtani said through his new translator, Will Ireton while speaking to press. "To summarize how I'm feeling right now, I'm beyond shocked. It's hard to verbalize how I'm feeling at this point."
Mizuhara had worked with Ohtani since 2018, when he first joined the Los Angeles Angels after being posted by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.
Ohtani signed a massive 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers following the 2023 season. Mizuhara followed the star two-way player from Anaheim to LA where he was to continue as his interpreter.
The duo's relationship was widely covered by sports media during their time with the Halos, where they were fan favorites for their light-hearted friendship.
On top of the theft allegations, some questions about Mizuhara's background have recently come to light.
An Angels media guide previously stated that he graduated from UC Riverside, but the school publicly announced that they had no records of anyone with the same name ever having attended the school. Similarly, Mizuhara was believed to have worked for the Boston Red Sox as an interpreter for one of their former players, but the team issued a statement to disclose that he was "never employed by the Boston Red Sox in any capacity and was not an interpreter."
The current investigation is said to be linked with a larger and ongoing probe into Matthew Bowyer. He is under federal investigation in a case that includes former Dodger Yasiel Puig, who faces multiple charges.
More from CBS News
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Cultural Caravan news portal”。http://saintvincentandthegrenadines.spaceforanything.com/html-8d199938.html
Related articles
Chinese, PNG FMs hold in
sportChinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Ch ...
【sport】
Read moreWill Biden address the Agent Orange legacy during his visit to Asia?
sportThis photo taken on Dec 8, 2022 shows the US Capitol building in Washington, DC, the United States. ...
【sport】
Read moreXi Orders Curbing Repeated Occurrence of Safety Accidents After Deadly Street Shop Fire
sportContact Us HomeNewsHighlightACWF NewsSocietyWom ...
【sport】
Read more
Popular articles
- Algeria hosts 23rd 'Chinese Bridge' language competition for university students
- Japan's move to discharge wastewater 'irresponsible'
- Heart attack sees bus driver ram crowd, kill 3 pedestrians
- MOC criticizes US' move against Chinese companies
- Egyptian, Chinese students mark UN Chinese Language Day in Cairo
- Severe convection causes 4 deaths, more than 10 injuries in E China
Latest articles
Classic Peking Opera films set for screening in Beijing
Xi Replies to Letter from Representatives of Kenyan Students, Alumni at Beijing Jiaotong University
Hezbollah official killed, 3 civilians injured in Israeli strike on Lebanese village
Trains on east route of China
Israeli airstrike kills 14 in Gaza's refugee camp
Protests erupt as concerns rise in ROK, Philippines
LINKS
- French musical Don Juan starts China tour
- China's State Council to revise, repeal administrative regulations
- Mexico evacuates 34 citizens from violence
- Inheritor creates ceramic work to celebrate upcoming Asian Games
- China makes headway in building international commercial arbitration centers
- Ukraine says Russian warship in Baltic Sea out of service after fire
- Inheritor creates ceramic work to celebrate upcoming Asian Games
- Xizang chairman hails region's miraculous development
- HKSAR chief executive signs safeguarding national security ordinance
- French musical Don Juan starts China tour