Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Los Angeles Dodgers have fired Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Representatives of Ohtani have alleged that Mizuhara was involved in a “massive theft” of Ohtani’s funds.
They claim the interpreter misappropriated funds to place bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker, who is currently under federal investigation.
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As reported by Shaikin, attorneys representing Ohtani made the accusation after it was discovered that Ohtani’s name had emerged in the investigation of Mathew Bowyer, a resident of Orange County.
Ohtani’s representatives began examining the actions of Mizuhara in response to inquiries from The Times, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Two sources informed the newspaper that the amount of money involved was in the millions of dollars.
The West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler gave the following statement:
“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.”
Mizuhara could not be contacted for comment.
According to anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Mizuhara placed bets with Bowyer.
One of the sources claimed that Mizuhara was not forthcoming when questioned about The Times’ inquiries. Nevertheless, he continued to interpret for Ohtani as his Dodgers opened the MLB season against the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea on Wednesday.
Ohtani, a globally renowned player who recently signed a groundbreaking 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, was unreachable for comment.
As of now, Major League Baseball has not been contacted by prosecutors, according to a spokesman.
