Ohtani’s former interpreter Mizuhara pleads guilty in sport betting case
Mizuhara pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $17m from the Los Angeles Dodgers player to pay off illegal gambling debts.
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player Shohei Ohtani, leaves federal court in Los Angeles [Damian Dovarganes/AP]Published On 4 Jun 20244 Jun 2024
Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $17m from the Japanese baseball player to pay off illegal gambling debts.
The former interpreter for the Los Angeles Dodgers player pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud in a federal court on Tuesday.
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Mizuhara pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum 30-year prison sentence, and one count of filing a false tax return, which has a maximum three-year prison sentence, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
US District Judge John Holcomb has scheduled sentencing for October 25.
Mizuhara’s hearing came hours after MLB banned a San Diego Padres infielder from baseball for life in the wake of another gambling scandal.
Major League Baseball said Tucupita Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totalling more than $150,000 in October 2022 and from last July through November with a legal sportsbook. He became the first active player in a century banned for life because of gambling. Four others were suspended Tuesday.