Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter negotiating guilty plea in connection to purported theft: Report

Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani who was fired in March after Ohtani alleged Mizuhara stole millions of dollars to pay his gambling debts, is negotiating a plea deal guilty of the alleged theft, according to a New York Times report. York Times.

The report describes the investigation into Mizuhara’s alleged theft as “close to conclusion” and says federal prosecutors found evidence that Mizuhara may have stolen more than the $4.5 million that initially appeared in news reports when l he story broke for the first time. According to the report, evidence alleges that Mizuhara changed the settings of Ohtani’s bank accounts so that Ohtani would not know about the transactions.

These alleged actions would serve as confirmation of Ohtani’s sole statements on the matter, made after the Dodgers returned from South Korea on March 25.

“Ippei stole money from my account and lied,” Ohtani said through his new interpreter, Will Ireton.

Mizuhara has hired former federal prosecutor Michael Freedman as his attorney, according to the Times. A message left for Freedman was not immediately returned.

The IRS and Department of Homeland Security, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, have opened an investigation into Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker with whom Mizuhara says he bet. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.

Major League Baseball has also opened an investigation into the situation. An MLB spokesperson declined to comment when contacted Wednesday evening.

Required reading

(Photo: Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)