Recent developments suggest that the financial misconduct involving Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, could be more extensive than initially believed.
According to a report by The New York Times on Wednesday, investigators have found evidence indicating Mizuhara might have embezzled amounts surpassing the previously alleged $4.5 million from Ohtani.
Furthermore, it appears Mizuhara might have altered the settings on Ohtani’s bank account to prevent the baseball star from receiving notifications about the fraudulent transactions.
The report also mentions that Mizuhara is facing federal charges related to the alleged embezzlement and is currently in plea negotiations. The full report provides more details on the situation.
In related news, it was disclosed earlier that the federal probe found no evidence of wrongdoing by Ohtani himself. The two-time AL MVP was reportedly unaware of Mizuhara’s activities and had no involvement in gambling.
The scandal has raised numerous questions about Mizuhara’s earnings and his accumulation of significant gambling debts. While not all queries have been addressed by the public details of the federal investigation, it has become clear that the scale of the alleged financial theft may be much larger than initially thought.
