Lawyers for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani have accused his interpreter of perpetrating “massive theft” of Ohtani’s money to allegedly place bets with an illegal bookmaker.
The theft by interpreter Ippei Mizuhara totaled “in the millions of dollars,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Ohtani’s lawyers made these claims to the outlet after it had been discovered that the star’s name came up amid an investigation into alleged illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who lives in Orange County.
After the outlet reached out to Ohtani, who is in Seoul, Korea for a season-opening series against the Padres, his representatives looked into the actions of Mizuhara, the report said.
“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,” the West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler told the Los Angeles Times in a statement.
Mizuhara, who allegedly placed bets with Bowyer, was fired by the Dodgers, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed.
After the Times story got published, things got a little murkier with a report from ESPN.
A spokesman for Ohtani had told ESPN that the superstar transferred $4.5 million to Bowyer to cover Mizuhara’s debt, and made Mizuhara available to the outlet to detail what had happened.
The story took a turn when Ohtani’s spokesperson then “disavowed” what Mizuhara had said, and Ohtani’s lawyers sent the same statement to ESPN that had been sent to the Times.
Ohtani signed a blockbuster 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers this past offseason, though $680 million of it is deferred until the end of the deal.
He played his first seven MLB seasons with the Angels, winning two MVP awards as the best combination hitter-pitcher since at least Babe Ruth.
Mizuhara, who could not be reached by the Times, was also Ohtani’s interpreter with the Angels.
Ohtani will not be pitching this season as he recovers from elbow surgery, but he hopes to return to the mound in future years.
This is a developing story
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