MLB
MLB consider Shohei Ohtani a victim of fraud
Major League Baseball announced that it has closed the investigation into the Los Angeles Dodgers player and the bets placed by Ippei Mizuhara.
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter of Shohei Ohtani, pleaded guilty this Tuesday to charges of bank and tax fraud, according to a report by Alden González of ESPN. Mizuhara was accused of stealing almost $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player to pay debts due to his gambling addiction, which was made through an illegal bookmaker.
As a consequence, Major League Baseball (MLB) has decided to close the investigation on Ohtani and now consider him a victim of fraud, based on the statement obtained by ESPN which claim that Mizuhara stole the money through electronic transfers of $500,000 by changing the settings of the player’s banking application.
The money stolen from the baseball player was deposited in gambling accounts in casinos in California and Las Vegas, then converted into chips and then collected to pay Matthew Bowyer, the baseball player’s bookmaker. Mizuhara claims that he never bet on baseball games, but he did place nearly 19,000 bets on other sports and accumulated nearly $41 million in losses. Such has been the impact of the Ohtani and Mizuhara scandal that a television series is set to be produced about the affair.
How many years in prison could Mizuhara face?
After pleading guilty in federal court to one count of bank fraud and one count of tax fraud, Mizuhara faces up to 33 years in prison, five years of supervised release, a $1.25 million fine and a $200 mandatory assessment. dollars. In addition to facing time in prison, the former performer must pay Ohtani the debt in full.