MLB opened its season with its biggest superstar, Shohei Ohtani, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a win. Then came the scandal.
Specifically, Ohtani’s longtime interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired by the Dodgers after being reported to have stolen millions of dollars from the two-way phenom to cover his gambling debts. The story stunned the baseball world by dropping out of nowhere Wednesday and only got more confusing as details emerged.
A lengthy ESPN report laid out what was clearly a bizarre situation behind the scenes, all centered on the claim that Ohtani had agreed to cover Mizuhara’s debts. An Ohtani spokesman reportedly claimed that to be the case to ESPN, only to reverse course one day later and get the slugger’s legal team involved.
It should be noted that everyone involved in the story has said Ohtani does not gamble, including Mizuhara and the alleged illegal bookmaker involved in the story. MLB players are allowed to gamble on sports that are not baseball — but not through illegal means. ESPN cited sources in the gambling operation that claimed Bowyer dealt directly with Mizuhara for bets on soccer and other non-baseball sports.
In the interest of clarity, here’s the story chronologically, as it was laid out in the ESPN report, plus some background information. The timeline also includes new insight from the government’s legal complaint against Mizuhara, along with subsequent reporting from the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
2013: Ohtani and Mizuhara meet in Japan
When we say Ohtani and Mizuhara go way back, we mean all the way back to the start of Ohtani’s professional career in Japan. In 2013, Ohtani plays his rookie year for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and meets Mizuhara, who began working as an interpreter for American player Chris Martin that season.
2018: Ohtani moves to MLB, brings Mizuhara with him
With great fanfare, Ohtani signs with the Los Angeles Angels, who hire Mizuhara to work as Ohtani’s interpreter. Over the next six years, Ohtani wins Rookie of the Year and two MVP awards while Mizuhara translates for him and acts in a number of other capacities, including Home Run Derby catcher and workout partner.
2021: Mizuhara meets Bowyer
Mizuhara, who had allegedly been placing bets on DraftKings, meets Mathew Bowyer, the bookmaker, at a poker game in San Diego. He later claimed to have believed it was legal to place bets with Bowyer, which he supposedly did. A lot.
November 2022: Mizuhara realizes he needs to improve his betting skills
On or around Nov. 14, Mizuhara reaches out to Boyer, according to legal documents published in April. “I’m terrible at this sport betting thing huh? Lol,” he writes. “Any chance you can bump me up again?? As you know, you don’t have to worry about me not paying!!”
September-October 2023: $1 million is sent to Bowyer under Ohtani’s name
Bank records show Ohtani’s name on two $500,000 wire transfers sent to an associate of Bowyer’s. The description section of the transfers read “loan.” One ESPN source claims that Bowyer allowed people to believe Ohtani was a client to help his business.
Mizuhara later claims this was done after Ohtani agreed to cover $4.5 million of his gambling debts. Ohtani allegedly “wasn’t happy” but said he would help to make sure Mizuhara wouldn’t do it again. Ohtani was also said to have logged onto his own computer and sent the wires under Mizuhara’s supervision:
Asked why Ohtani didn’t simply give him the money instead of paying Bowyer’s associate directly, Mizuhara said Ohtani didn’t trust him with the money.
“He didn’t want me to gamble it away,” Mizuhara said.
Mizuhara said he told Ohtani he would pay him back.
October 2023: Bowyer’s home is raided
Bowyer’s home is raided by federal authorities, with a search warrant inventory showing agent-seized cash, casino chips, banking documents, a money-counting machine, multiple computers, portable storage devices and cellphones.
December 2023: Ohtani signs with the Dodgers
Ohtani obliterates the record for largest MLB contract with a 10-year, $700 million deal with Los Angeles that defers $680 million to be paid after the life of the contract.
January 2024: Feds notice Ohtani’s name in Bowyer’s operation
Those same federal authorities learn that Ohtani’s name is on the wire payments.
March 19: Mizuhara speaks with ESPN
ESPN eventually gets wind of the story and contacts Ohtani’s camp, while the star is in South Korea.
Crucially, a spokesman tells ESPN that Ohtani transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debt, then makes Mizuhara available for a 90-minute interview in which he lays out the supposed story:
“Obviously, he [Ohtani] wasn’t happy about it and said he would help me out to make sure I never do this again,” Mizuhara said. “He decided to pay it off for me.”
“I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again.”
Later, Ohtani’s camp claims this was all done after the player’s handlers spoke with him while relying on Mizuhara to translate. Ohtani supposedly remained in the dark about the situation.
March 20: So much happens
OK, it might be best to go through this via lightning round:
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Ohtani helps lead the Dodgers to a season-opening 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres.
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After the game, Dodgers officials call a clubhouse meeting and tell players a negative story is coming later in the day. Mizuhara apologizes and admits he has a gambling addiction.
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Ohtani starts asking questions, per the later ESPN report.
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An ESPN reporter asks the Ohtani camp about Mizuhara’s allegation that Ohtani was present and helped move the funds and that he was going to be paid back.
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Ohtani’s spokesman contacts Ohtani’s attorneys, then disavows Mizuhara’s account.
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Ohtani’s attorneys at Berk Brettler LLP release a statement: “In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.”
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Mizuhara agrees to another interview with ESPN but says he was told he could not comment when asked if he has been accused of theft. He declines to say who told him that.
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Mizuhara then recants his story, claiming that Ohtani had no knowledge of his gambling activities or debts and that Ohtani did not make the wire transfers.
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The story is broken by the Los Angeles Times, which received the statement.
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Mizuhara is fired.
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At some point, Mizuhara sends the bookmaker an encrypted message admitting that he stole from Ohtani, per the legal documents, which aren’t released until a month later.
“Have you seen the reports?” Mizuhara asks Bowyer.
“Yes, but that’s all bulls***. Obviously you didn’t steal from him. I understand it’s a cover job,” Bowyer responds.
“Technically I did steal from him,” Mizuhara writes. It’s all over for me.” “
March 21: No comment from Ohtani
Following the Dodgers’ 15-11 loss to the Padres, Ohtani is guarded at his locker by team PR officials and leaves the locker room without speaking to reporters.
This entire sequence of events leaves plenty of questions.
It’s unclear when the second Mizuhara interview on the 20th occurred in relation to the later events, but the exact order doesn’t change the story. On Tuesday, Ohtani’s camp said the player was helping Mizuhara with his gambling debts. On Wednesday, that same camp said Mizuhara made it all up and its a thief.
March 22: MLB opens investigation into allegations against Mizuhara
After Ohtani’s camp blamed Mizuhara, Major League Baseball announced an official probe into the situation. The statement, which misspelled Mizuhara’s surname, made no mention of sidelining Ohtani.
Sometime around March 25: Legal investigation into Mizuhara is opened
A joint legal investigation into Mizuhara is reportedly opened around three weeks before a New York Times article is published on Wednesday, April 10. The probe is led by the Los Angeles branch of the Internal Revenue Service’s criminal division, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California.
The investigation finds that Mizuhara managed to alter the alerts settings on Ohtani’s bank account, according to the New York Times. Prosecutors also reportedly secure evidence that Mizuhara could have stolen more from Ohtani than the previously cited $4.5 million.
April 10: Mizuhara is reportedly in negotiations to plead guilty
While no legal investigation was officially announced, the New York Times reports Wednesday that Mizuhara is in negotiations to plead guilty in front of a federal judge. He will reportedly be represented by Michael Freedman in the case, a former federal prosecutor who regularly defends white-collar criminals.
April 11: Mizuhara is charged with bank fraud for allegedly stealing more than $16 million
Mizuhara is formally charged with bank fraud for allegedly stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani. The former Dodgers employee made unauthorized transfers from Ohtani’s bank account between Nov. 2021 and Jan. 2024 to pay off his illegal gambling debts, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada says at a Thursday news conference. The new amount Mizuhara is accused of stealing is a staggering increase from what was initially reported. A 37-page affidavit is published, detailing the evidence against him.
It’s worth noting that using a wire “which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers” is explicitly listed in the U.S. criminal code as a violation that can result in a fine or imprisonment for up to two years, which might explain the about-face from Ohtani’s camp after Mizuhara said the baseball star sent the wire transfer. MLB also strictly forbids any relationships with illegal gambling.
The change of story, naturally, led to a torrent of conspiracy theories about Ohtani’s involvement in the gambling, but the details reported independent of Mizuhara’s account all line up with the idea that the interpreter was the one who was illegally gambling. Also, it’s doubtful Ohtani’s name would be on those wires if the whole plan was to hide his secret gambling habit.
Of course, that doesn’t mean something more wasn’t going on behind the scenes.
Source Agencies
