Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, agreed to plead guilty on Wednesday to bank fraud and a tax charge after he stole more than $16 million from Ohtani.
in a massive and complicated scandal, which left him facing up to 30 years in prison. He reportedly transferred weekly $500,000 payments from Ohtani’s bank account to cover up his illegal gambling losses, which totaled more than $40 million.
Ohtani has denied knowing anything about the scandal ahead of time, and said he learned about the situation when Mizuhara stood up in front of the Los Angeles Dodgers and confessed in March. Ohtani has since been cleared of any wrongdoing, and is playing with the Dodgers as planned this season.
Mizuhara agreed to plead guilty to two charges on Wednesday. The first charge, one count of bank fraud, carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison. The second charge, subscribing to a false tax return, could add up to three years in prison.
He is expected to enter his guilty plea officially next week.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.
Source Agencies
