Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter was charged on Thursday with bank fraud for stealing $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger to cover gambling debts, according to court documents.
LOS ANGELES, April 11 - Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter was charged on Thursday with bank fraud for stealing $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger to cover gambling debts, according to court documents.
The outcome spared the Dodgers and Major League Baseball a potential scandal of epic proportions, recalling the controversy stirred 35 years ago when Pete Rose was accused of gambling on baseball games, including those of his own team, while he played for and managed the Cincinnati Reds. If convicted on the single count of bank fraud with which he is charged, Mizuhara could face a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
To cover his debts, Mizuhara repeatedly impersonated Ohtani to "trick and deceive" bank employees into authorizing wire transfers from Ohtani's account, where the player's baseball salary was deposited, the affidavit said. Mizuhara, who met Ohtani in 2013 when they were both with Japan's Nippon Ham Fighters team, was the slugger's near-constant companion during Ohtani's six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. The interpreter wasDays later, Ohtani told reporters at the March 25 press conference that Mizuhara had admitted to him that he had been using Ohtani's account to make the payments, and said he was "saddened and shocked" by the betrayal.
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