Lee Jin-man/AP
Ippei Mizuhara, left, the interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, right, was fired from the team last week.
CNN
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Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is expected to address the media Monday as Major League Baseball investigates allegations of theft against his former interpreter.
“I’m happy he’s going to speak – speak to what he knows and give his thoughts on the whole situation,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday. “I think it’ll give us a little bit more clarity.”
Roberts spoke before the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over Ohtani’s former team, the Los Angeles Angels. The teams face off again Monday at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani’s longtime Japanese interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired after Ohtani’s lawyers accused him of “massive theft” of millions of dollars and placing bets with a bookmaker under federal investigation, according to ESPN and the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the story.
The scandal has overshadowed the start of MLB’s new season, challenged the public’s understanding of one of baseball’s biggest stars, and brought renewed scrutiny to professional sports’ closeness with gambling.
An attorney for Mathew Bowyer, the former bookmaker under federal investigation related to gambling, said he never met or had “any direct contact” with Ohtani but did do business with Mizuhara.
“Mathew Bowyer never spoke with or emailed with or texted with or had any contact whatsoever with Shohei Ohtani,” the attorney, Diane Bass told CNN in an on-camera interview on Saturday.
The attorney also said Ohtani’s interpreter never bet on baseball.
The MLB and the Internal Revenue Service are separately investigating the interpreter.
“Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” the league said in a news release last week. “Earlier today, our Department of Investigations began their formal process investigating the matter.”
The IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office is investigating both Mizuhara and Bowyer, IRS spokesman Scott Villiard told CNN on Friday. Bowyer is a California resident who bankruptcy court documents show had gambling debts of $425,000 more than a decade ago.
Ohtani and Mizuhara first worked together from 2013 to 2017 when Mizuhara served as a translator for the Nippon-Ham Fighters, Ohtani’s team with Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League, according to MLB.com. When Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, he asked Mizuhara to join him as his translator in his rookie season, and Mizuhara eventually followed the star to the Dodgers, CNN previously reported.
ESPN’s Tisha Thompson, citing multiple unnamed sources, said on CNN’s “The Lead” Wednesday at least $4.5 million was withdrawn via wire transfer from Ohtani’s bank accounts, though it is unclear who initiated the transfers.
CNN has sought comment from Mizuhara and Ohtani’s agent. Ohtani’s attorneys have not detailed how…
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