Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara is in negotiations with federal investigators about pleading guilty to charges of stealing from Ohtani’s bank account, according to a report from Tim Arango and Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times. Ohtani has publicly accused Mizuhara — a longtime friend — of stealing from his accounts to pay off gambling debts which the interpreter had accrued.
A few weeks ago, ESPN reported that more than $4.5MM had been wired from Ohtani’s account to an illegal bookmaker in Southern California. The New York Times now reports that federal prosecutors have found evidence indicating that Mizuhara siphoned more than that initially reported $4.5MM figure, in part by disabling notifications that Ohtani would have received from his bank about account transactions.
The gambling debts first became public in late March while the Dodgers were playing the Padres in South Korea. Initially, Mizuhara told ESPN that Ohtani had wired the money to the bookmaker to cover the debt. Mizuhara subsequently retracted that statement, telling ESPN the next day that Ohtani had been unaware of the entire situation. The two-time MVP said the same, releasing a statement accusing Mizuhara of stealing the money and referring the matter to the authorities.
Both Ohtani and Mizuhara have stated that the two-way star did not place any bets. Mizuhara indicated that the bets were his alone but denied that he ever placed a bet related to baseball.
Tonight’s report from Arango and Schmidt adds context to the conflicting stories. According to the New York Times, Mizuhara and Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo of CAA, initially tried to manage the public relations fallout without informing Ohtani. The Times writes that Mizuhara first told Balelo that Ohtani had covered debts for an unnamed teammate. He then changed his story and admitted the debts were his own but still claimed that Ohtani agreed to pay them, which is the version of events he initially told ESPN.
According to the Times report, Mizuhara then provided that same account when speaking in English to the L.A. clubhouse. Ohtani, who was present for that clubhouse address, told reporters two weeks ago that he confronted his friend thereafter. At that point, according to Ohtani, Mizuhara admitted that he had stolen the money. The Dodgers fired him at that point.
The version of events laid out in the Times report aligns with Ohtani’s public declaration that he was unaware of Mizuhara’s activities and played no role in the gambling scheme. Of course, neither the legal process nor MLB’s investigation have been completed. Neither the U.S. attorney’s office nor anyone from MLB has commented publicly since Ohtani’s statement on March 25. Arango and Schmidt report that Ohtani has met with authorities in recent weeks.
Akakak
Wow the web of fraud we weave.
Poor unassuming victim ohtani
Seriously all i hear is ohtani got caught laundering money to cover his gambling debts to the mob
B-rocker
Can I borrow your videos of the faked moon landing?
YankeesBleacherCreature
Too much earwax, my friend.
Dorothy_Mantooth
I thought the same at first as well, but as more information comes out, the more I believe Ohtani was completely oblivious to the situation and was not involved. He obviously trusted this guy enough to give him his banking information and most likely had him pay his bills on his behalf. With Ohtani bringing in $50M+ per year in salary and endorsements, it doesn’t surprise me that he didn’t watch his bank balance too closely and he was taken advantage of by a trusted friend/employee. This stuff happens all the time with Hollywood stars and their personal assistants or even family members. Just take a look at what Dane Cook’s brother did to him.
Bucket Number Six
Just take a look at what Dane Cook did to us.
GSWfanklay
Still makes Shohie look like a ninm witt
178iq
Mantooth is a Manmoron. Which ones of your friends has your banking information? Lmao seriously!!?! Who you allow to make MILLIONS of dollars of transfers out of your account and you don’t notice or care. Mantooth you’d nothing if $25 was mission out of your checking account. Let alone MILLIONS. ShoTime is a kid. They both are. And they thought they were untouchable. Invincible never gonna get caught. Etc… and his buddy is taking the fall. But every human who isn’t a complete Moron LNOWS they both were doing bad things. Got caught. And Pete rose is right, he should have lied about gambling and should have had an interpreter.
norcalblue
Thank you D_M. Appreciate your voice of reason.
Cam
I don’t think you understand what laundering is, let alone what is going on here.
ahale224
It involves a washing machine right?
WiffleBall
If you use a laundromat as your front, then yes.
Akakak
And i dont think you understand that you cant claim 5 million in mob gambling debts on your tax return…. Sooooo i dont think you know how thinking things through works
178iq
Mantooth-moron is just stupid.
TheMan 3
It’s weird that Ohtani didn’t know that his money was being used to make gambling bets.
I don’t buy the hype that he was unaware and also believe that MLB will go to any lengths to protect their superstar player
schwender
But aren’t the feds involved? I don’t think they’d care about what MLB wants.
Yankee Clipper
Although the feds won’t care what MLB wants, the burden of proving knowledge v ignorance is much higher for charging purposes.
How does that matter here? Well, IF Ohtani knew, and Ippei did take money with Ohtani’s approval, the only way to prove that is for Ohtani to admit it, or Ippei to confirm it. For legal purposes, the point is that Ohtani’s denial, coupled with Ippei’s lack of confirmation would make a principal (or accessory) charge nearly impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
I’m not saying Ohtani knew, but the feds are operating by a completely different rule book for charging and {proving} he gave permission.
In short, no hard evidence = no charges. That’s doesn’t prove the inverse though (that he definitely didn’t know).
Rexhudler86
@yankee clipper can’t he say he gave his friend/ employee money and didn’t know it was for gambling off shore, but your right seems like dodgers legal got a hold of it, and changed the story, and made it worse. He gifted joe Kelly’s wife a Porsche I don’t think he cares about money. Also they had a former interpreter on the day after the story broke and he was saying the easiest part was answering questions for media the rest of the job was helping them set up bank accounts, driver’s license, living arrangements. Not far fetched to think ippei knew some passwords.
Lanidrac
@YankeeClipper While this is all true, you’re missing the context of the previous poster who is claiming that it is in MLB’s best interest NOT to punish Ohtani.
Yankee Clipper
Rex: Yes and that’s a great point. I should’ve added that I’m operating under the presumption that all the money was directly traced from Ohtani’s account to the bookie through the wire transfers in the above stated example.
If it went through Ippei first, he could say he gifted it to him for being a great friend or whatever, then there’s nothing anybody could do.
Yankee Clipper
Lanidrac: Yeah, I should’ve clarified that I wasn’t posting in response to that. I was responding to whether the feds would care about MLB’s position. But, I do believe MLB (naturally) does not want Ohtani to be involved because that’s a huge mess for them and will certainly impact MLB financially (to some degree). I don’t believe the feds would cater to MLB though.
BlueSkies_LA
It should also be pointed out that when Mizuhara pleads guilty it will be in exchange for a lesser sentence and helping the feds build a case against the bookie. They’ve been investigating him for years. In fact Ohtani’s name only came up in this case because of the federal investigation into the bookie. MLB doesn’t come into this at all unless somehow the evidence points to Ohtani being something other than a victim of theft, and I don’t see that happening since Mizuhara has already confessed to stealing the money.
TheMan 3
Anyone who knows our history knows that coverups are common especially in the government
Examples
Iran-Contra
Watergate
The truth eventually emerged but both were government inflicted coverups
User 3180623956
TheMan – did you seriously just equate those two coverups with this situation?!?
BlueSkies_LA
Yeah, it’s all a conspiracy. Good thinking. Very original.
The feds have evidence of Mizuhara impersonating Ohtani on the phone to the bank. They have all the records of him accessing the account and making the transfers. As the feds have said very clearly this is a financial crime with Ohtani as the victim.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
A domestic violence investigation does not end when the spouse recants. This gambling investigation should leave no stone unturned even if the interpreter takes a plea deal. This does not mean that I think Ohtani is guilty, not having seen the financial records, I have no opinion in either direction. But it is in the interest of baseball to go through those records with a fine tooth comb.
BlueSkies_LA
Just as a point of order, MLB can do little or no investigating while criminal proceedings are ongoing. They can’t talk to anyone who might be charged or be called as a witness, or be deposed, so this means they can’t really talk to anyone with a firsthand knowledge of what happened until later. Maybe much later.
VegasSDfan
Because what you “hear” is wrong 100% of the time.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Witness testimony means nothing here. The truth is best derived from reviewing subpoenaed bank records including dates, times and lifestyle expenditures. Anyone who reaches a conclusion in either direction without having reviewed the records is merely speculating.
Cachhubguy
They were never going to let this go to trial. We will never hear all the evidence.
Bucket Number Six
That really was a Hattori Hanzo sword.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Hanzo did not like Bill
njbirdsfan
I know when $4M comes out of my financial accounts…no cause for concern.
revo
do you make $50m a year, and have enough in the bank to defer the largest contract in baseball history for over 10 years?
horaceallen
I only make $200k per year and I would certainly notice if $16k came out of my bank account.
Dock_Elvis
I’ll go with what the Feds have on the bookie. I don’t think nailing a high roll bookie will leave everyone unscathed.
TheMan 3
Riddle me this, how did Ohtani not know he was missing $16 million from his accounts?
Either he’s a trusting fool or just a fool
Dock_Elvis
16M? I thought it was 4.5. I’ll buy a man of his means might not handle day to day finances. But the laundering system triggers and would contact. I have a hard time seeing how NO one caught that either his team.
Lars MacDonald
We’re never going to know the true story here.
halloffamernobodycares
For one time in my life, even as a super cynical guy, I actually believe Ohtani’s story, and I believe Mizuhara scrambled for a story when he got cornered and then gave up the goods when he realized it just wasn’t gonna go away. I also believe Ohtani is some sort of baseball cyborg savant who would never tarnish that reputation by exposing himself to bookies and gambling.
It just doesn’t make sense.
Mojo37
the cover up garbage makes sense to cynical half wits
SheaGoodbye
Eh. As far as conspiracy theories go, or whatever you want to call them in this instance, they have some legs given the hard-to-believe circumstances. Basically, we have to believe Ohtani and the rest of his orbit are a bunch of naive idiots. And there’s certainly ample motivation for both Ohtani and MLB to sweep this under the rug as fast as possible.
Of course, in the absence of additional corroborating info, I’m not saying I believe Ohtani is guilty of anything. Just saying that this particular conspiracy theory isn’t as crazy as most of the ones floating out there. Granted, that’s a very low bar.
User 3180623956
Yeah because the FBI is just going to sweep this under the rug.
stan lee the manly
The FBI involvement is the only reason this became a story. MLB would have already buried it if they could have
Dock_Elvis
I don’t care one way or another about cover up or no. I’m just curious what the Feds find from the bookie. The last word isn’t in.
WiffleBall
It doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to believe that there may be a coverup going on. The notion that coverups don’t happen all the time — particularly among the wealthy and well-connected — only makes sense to total nitwits.
Lanidrac
If his notifications were disabled, it’s not that hard to believe that it took a while for Ohtani to notice the missing money. I don’t usually check my bank accounts more than once a month.
Jack Dawkins
The FBI isn’t involved at this time. IRS and Homeland Security are the investigating agencies. IRS is serious about collecting Uncle Sam’s share of the bookie’s business. Homeland Security’s business is about national security. It will be interesting to find out why Homeland is involved.
hyraxwithaflamethrower
HoFNC, I want to believe Ohtani is innocent and it is most plausible that this story is right, but as for it not making sense that Ohtani would throw away what he has, that’s the power of addictions. Otherwise good people gamble away their life savings, disappear into a bottle, or shoot up drugs and can’t stop. Like I said, I don’t think Ohtani actually is guilty, but I don’t find it implausible, either, even with all he has to lose.
mlbdodgerfan2015
There is zero evidence that he gambled. Where is the smoking gun? You’d think for a guy gambling this much and losing so much money that there would be stories and accounts of Ohtani gambling. He’s a superstar celebrity after all. Not some Joe blow nobody knows. So why believe conspiracy stories that have not been substantiated?
RandorBierd
That’s called a lack of self-control. Get it together.
Pingston
Would you or anybody believe a bookie who has traded evidence to police that suggests Ohtani was 100% aware? Substantiation will once again be subject to doubts above and beyond what’s generally acceptable.
TheMan 3
He didn’t have to himself gamble, but I am convinced that he knew what was going on
Otherwise how does anyone with half a brain truly believe he didn’t know there was money missing from his accounts
Half a brain is the size of every Dodger fan
SheaGoodbye
It’s not even that I expected him personally to know what was going on. It’s how could he not be paying someone, or multiple someones, a nice chunk of change to, among other things, keep track of his financials? It comes with the territory of being super rich. And this is hardly the first time a good friend of a celebrity has stolen from them.
To be clear, I’m not saying Ohtani did know something was up. Just that this picture is pretty hard to believe as currently constructed.
mirage
If it’s an addiction, sooner or later we’ll know, because he won’t stop. So I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt in the meantime.
Dock_Elvis
Mlbdodgerfan2015.
Feds and IRS have the bookie. That’s a good or bad thing for Ohtani. He probably has ZERO incentive to cover up for Ohtani.
filihok
TM8
“Half a brain is the size of every Dodger fan”
Muted (the worst kind of fan (and person))
Raysasineppswasplanted
“…among other things, keep track of his financials? Well his financials were kept on track, but on the Horse Track, there’s a couple of good ones in SoCal: Los Alamitos and Del Mar.
Lanidrac
Exactly how often do you check your bank accounts when you aren’t receiving any notifications?
Many people balance their checkbook (or online account) once a month and then leave their accounts alone unless they receive a notification or something else out of the ordinary comes up.
White Sox Suck (2-14, shutout 5x)
In today’s world how often do people check their bank accounts? Weekly if not daily
I don’t think you realize how much movement of money occurs in today’s world compared to 90s and early 00s thru your bank account. Back then cash was king and checks.
Today
Subscriptions. Cell phone bills. Ordering stuff online. Venmoing people. There’s a lot of money moving out of accounts on such a larger scale than before.
I highly doubt people who operate in today’s world check it once a month. Weekly or daily.
SheaGoodbye
Treating Ohtani like your Everyday Joe, particularly when he had given access to friends and is worth a zillion dollars, is beyond dumb.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
The Man3
Anyone who makes generalizations about an entire fan-base exposes themselves as either a troll or an idiot.
johnsilver
Oh sure. Pete Rose was still looked upon as a modern day king of baseball with his steve garvey like clean image and what was it that happened?
Stop annointing people u have -0- clue about as tho their word is divine. Rule #1 after been on this planet long enough and avoid most biased media.
avenger65
johnsilver: I wouldn’t say Rose had a Steve Garvey-like clean image. He made some enemies along the way to greatness with his hard-nosed style of play. Also, Garvey’s image turned out to be not so clean, either. Ohtani’s image is squeaky clean but even if it wasn’t, even if it turned out that he did make bets, Manfred and the owners would sweep it under the rug rather than lose their number one draw.
Unclemike1526
I never believed Ohtani was gambling anyway. The guy prints money. People throw it at him. What’s the allure for a guy like that? Most gamblers are guys who are looking for quick money who basically hate work. This guy makes money waking up in the morning. Most of gambling is the rush you get. What’s 4 million to him? He makes 4 million brushing his teeth.
johnsilver
Avenger. Correct on garvey hiding away a few things. My point was BB fans, LAD (then) in particular used to hold him up as to what every young, American male should strive to be.
Biggest point is don’t listen to those with an agenda and really.. nobody is perfect. It grew tired about a year in of hearing how “perfect” Garvey was back then.
White Sox Suck (2-14, shutout 5x)
Most gamblers are guys who are looking for quick money who basically hate work.
Yeah no. Most gamblers are people that have an addiction problem and get off on winning. Money or no money hardly matters. It’s the thrill of winning and bigger the win bigger the thrill and it’s something people with addiction constantly seek.
cadagan
@UncleMike1526
“Most gamblers are guys who are looking for quick money who basically hate work”
I think most gamblers brains risk reward centers are wired differently. Impulse control. Addictive personality types.
I don’t think how much money someone has has a shred of anything to do with it.
Other than these types of people might be pre-disposed to having less money because they may lead Train wreck lives.
But some of the biggest gamblers. Tiger, Jordan, etc probably gamble 4 million easily.
Unclemike1526
Except those guys you mentioned gambled most of the money they did at Casinos. ( Legally) Or on the golf course between themselves. That’s totally different thing.
Pingston
II fear you’re right.
My contacts in Toronto say the Blue Jays ownership has breathed a sigh of relief that they don’t have this to contend with, after all. And those paid to do the team’s due diligence have been asked questions…
TheMan 3
Pete Rose made more than his share of money and not even from his gambling addiction
Greed is what drives people to do what they can for money
drasco036
Mike, that take is terrible. It’s well known several athletes gamble and it’s a common trait of the filthy rich.
Jordan is well known to have lost millions gambling, as is Barkley. It’s a known habit/problem/addiction of highly competitive people. The NHL just had a huge gambling problem where several players were suspended, the NFL and so on.
It’s not that the super rich are trying to make a quick buck, it’s the rush of winning and losing a couple 100k-million doesn’t mean all that much to them. “High rollers” go to Vegas everyday and gamble away millions. Do you really think that is Joe blow trying to make a quick buck?
You take, no offense, is the classic “have a thought, say a thought” without actually truly putting much thought into it.
bostonbob
Uncle, ya like Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan and Antoine Walker to name just a few
halloffamernobodycares
as a reformed compulsive gambler, it’s never about winning. The action of the process is what that addiction feeds on. While you make the bet, the waiting and suspense is the draw. If we cared about winning and losing, we’d not gamble.
Dock_Elvis
I was in my childhood when Pete played in the 80s and I don’t recall him having a Steve Garvey squeaky clean image. He would curse on national broadcast interviews.
Guard the Vogt
I don’t believe his story at all.
dasit
i’ve come around to this as well. plenty of athletes are man-children who hand over their personal affairs in order to focus on their sport
youngliam
I just don’t believe that his interpreter got $4.5m in credit with a bookie. That still doesn’t add up.
SheaGoodbye
“Don’t worry, I’m stealing from Ohtani. It’s all good bro.”
JPR
No, what you mean is that you have already decided that any story that clears Ohtani of wrong doing is not the real story.
halloffamernobodycares
That’s exactly the opposite of what I said and, therefore, meant.
FSF
hall, JPR appears to be replying to the OP and agreeing with you. Read the room buddy.
I also agree that the Mizuhara story is probably the most likely scenario.
SalaryCapMyth
@hallo. I don’t think JPR was actually replying to you. He probably just used the reply button because it was convenient but actually was responding to Lars. He just happened to line up behind mojo. Lots of posters do that. I’m guilty of it. It just would be helpful if we used the @name_of_person_u_are_replying_too. =}
RandorBierd
Or the owners of the site could fix the commenting issues which have existed for years. Perhaps Factor can help in some way.
halloffamernobodycares
I saw that after I posted and alas, no delete button, so apologies to JPR.
Akakak
His agents benevolent preemptive damage control doesnt strike you as odd?
Learn to spot a fall guy when you see one.
Also, go read up on ohtani’s reputation on japanese social media — he likes to live big
Ohtani did his interpreter like diddy did shine …. Only the interpreter probably took a pay off instead of 20 to life… otherwise totally the same lol
Pingston
If the agent did as is reported here, he, too, may be in legal jeopardy in covering up and disseminating false information about a felony. If he saw his claim to fame (and fortune) being tarnished by what he found out, his motivation is clear.
But what if investigators from FBI, LAPD, etc have found other info not currently pushed to media. The millions involved can also buy lots of spin that doesn’t line up with bookie records — and if a bookie brings down a bigger fish that’s an incentive for his cooperation.
And as a colleague noted to me, there are private gambling rooms in Las Vegas and the principals involved here have the means to zip back and forth via private jet… And what about off-season junkets to Macao?
darinc
Nope, you know Ohtani knew about some of it. MLB took over and wrote the script for damage control.
bedbathandbiyombo
Ah yes, because the FBI answers to MLB.
BlueSkies_LA
It’s all part of the Deep State, you know. Those people control everything, including our minds.
Wait, wait, a message is coming in… Ohtani… from… other… planet… trying… to… steal… our… souls…. and
Ben T
No one who had ever seen MLBs PR team in action would want them to take over “damage control” for anything.
revo
MLB’s “damage control” team worked wonders at the 2002 All Star Game, Armando Galarraga’s perfecto, the Bartman game, the Pete Rose affair, the PED scandal, etc etc
GASoxFan
This story still seems off…
In what world would an AGENT try to cover-up the fallout from their CLIENT?
That’s not just arguabky breach of fiduciary duty as well, but, suicide for your entire business and career!
DarkSide830
Or, perhaps, we know it already but want to make up fake stories.
LordD99
Or maybe we already know the true story.
YankeesBleacherCreature
If Ippei Mizuhara pleads guilty, it’ll all be a matter of public record. The feds will need to see evidence and interview Ohtani before buying his accounts of the events.
GarryHarris
I agree. There’s no way that this version is completely true.
RonDarlingShouldntBeInTheHallOfFame
Will it be the coverup?
Or will he roll over?
My guess is the former.
Pingston
And the cover-up often causes more problems than that which is being covered up.
Fred
BAN OHTANI MANFRED.
revo
Who’s “Ohtani Manfred?”
BlueSkies_LA
Baseball’s ultimate evil villain. Give him a white cat and you’ve got a movie.
HalosHeavenJJ
Do sone Fed time, get a bag of cash for taking the fall.
Jerry Hairston Jr's Toupee
Case closed!
this comment section is a disaster
why does everyone assume the truth can’t just be Ippei is a degenerate gambler and that’s it? ever heard of Occam’s Razor? guarantee if Ohtani wasn’t a Dodger this wouldn’t even be a scandal in the first place.
Gwynning
This is a big, nay, GIANT deal regardless of Ohtani-san’s employer. Besides, my assumption is most, if not all, bets were placed when “they” were Angels employees. Don’t get a false sense that this is an anti-Dodger thing…
JayKay
Gotta disagree with you.
Him being on said team certainly plays a factor – the Dodgers one of the largest markets in all of baseball after all – but he is such a high profile player that I find it hard to imagine it not being a scandal even if he was on a different team.
cadagan
@This comment section is a disaster
Why did you bring up Occams razor to scold the comment section? Just
To give an improper example.
The simplest is that it is newsworthy because it is something.
Not the conspiracy because he is a Dodger.
Oldhalo
It’s possible that Ippei is soley responsible here… but so are the other scenarios that people are suggesting. Ohtani is important to the game, to the MLB and there is a lot of money that follows him. If he did bet, and bet on baseball, we may never know. It isn’t like Pete Rose when your career has ended and you’re no longer selling tickets/putting butts in seats. MLB and others have good reason to cover things up is what everyone is suggesting.
this comment section is a disaster
sure, to both you and other responders… my point is moreso that sports gambling is so widespread these days. i find it easier to believe that Ippei was responsible as a guy we know nearly nothing about (he’s hardly a public figure other than his role as Ohtani’s interpreter) just being a gambler, as opposed to Ohtani who nothing about his life indicates he would be the culprit. He’s definitely a big name but if he was on the Athletics (lol) or something I think people would more easily believe the conclusion that it was Ippei all along… though it’s true with what other commenters said that we will never know what exactly happened between them
mirage
@Oldhalo for anyone who works for MLB, trying a cover-up when there’s a federal investigation in play takes it from a “the league makes a bit less money” situation to a “you go to jail for obstruction of justice” situation. It’s really not a good idea.
Which, people do stupid stuff all the time, so not impossible. But for anyone who finds the official story hard to believe because how could they be that clumsy and incompetent—all the potential explanations are like that.
adj1970
In what world would a bookie give an interpreter a 5 million dollar ceiling
Now ohtani on the other hand could get it
yetipro
@adj1970 Ippei had access to Shohei’s bank account. It was needed to wire the money. That’s how the bookie gave the interpreter a ceiling. He was probably regularly good for it, up until the end. Did you think bookies cut you off once you’ve lost a certain amount of money? How kind
These harebrained conspiracy theories go no deeper than about 1mm below the surface…then it all falls apart…
revo
The interpreter controlled the information flow. He could have had Ohtani “agree” to backing him right in front of his face and Ohtani would’ve been none the wiser.
He also had control of his bank accounts and could’ve sent the bookie a sizable amount as upfront proof he had cash.
The bookie also admittedly used Ohtani as a book builder, letting everyone (wrongly) know he had a relationship with him.
Your argument is the one that holds the least water.
GASoxFan
Look at the time line we’ve gotten in reporting:
First, a player is a national figurehead back home, but, his interpreter reports about multi-millions in transfers as gifts, in a different lamguage/country. He *has* to know word gets back from all the player’s home country contacts about what happens, right?
Then, that story gets retracted and we are told it was actually theft and unauthorized transfers that nobody got word to the account holder about. Never mind the complexities of account access or authorization requirements to send wires of that size, or, how accountants, etc wouldnt say a thing or raise a flag about the rate of expenditures?
Then we’re told, wait, this is like charitable expenses donating gloves and things like that, which, is how they hid it…. BUT, someone would notice its always the same account, all the ither issues, blah blah blah. Leave all that mess aside for the sake of argument though.
Now, we’re told the player’s actual AGENT conspired with the thief, AFTER it was known it was THEFT, to hide the circumstances and fallout from his client, the player? Seriously?
It just keeps getting weirder and more unbelievable. *WHY* would the agent try to hide it from ohtani? Thats a guaranteed way to lose every client, your entire career, and destroy the agency. So *WHY* would you do it? What did the agent have to gain?
It makes no sense!
mlbdodgerfan2015
Of course it has to do with Ohtani and being a Dodger. You’d believe a Padre or Giant fan? There is also so much Dodger hate that many of these clowns believe anything negative about the Dodgers. You could probably convince them Ohtani was involved in the assassination of JFK even though he wasn’t born yet.
BlueSkies_LA
Not everyone, just the cynics and nihilists who believe everyone is just unprincipled as they are.
Hotdog 2
Lol at this guy. I’m sure if he were a Yankee or red Sox, no one would care. Victim status denied
baked mcbride
Still better than seppuku!
RandorBierd
That should be the consequence which will then allow the family to maintain their honor so it’s a win-win.
Simm
Yeah this smells real fishy. I guess it will come down to the plea he can get. If it’s near nothing he does it, if they try and give him 20 years his story will change again.
Gwynning
What did Simm say that was self-obsessed? He spoke his thoughts, and maybe he’ll be proven correct. Get over yourself, OJ.
Gwynning
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.” – OJ Enjoyer’s mom
Gwynning
You should have listened to your mom.
filihok
Gwynn
Muted
filihok
OJE
Muted
Rally Goose
@filihok They still weren’t talking to you but OJE’s comments appear to have been “modded.”
Bucket Number Six
He’s going to miss the boocockee now.
Olericat
Pete Rose said it best, “I wished I’d had an interpreter…”
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs
“I thought she was 16!”
Non Roster Invitee
Ahegao.
Edp007
Needs an interpreter coz Pete’s watching too many pre teen Japanese anime
Hotdog 2
Rose is Patrick Reed. Always digging more. Could have come clean and shown humility, but a tool
solaris602
If you could get Ohtani in “the box” to be interrogated by one TV detective, who would you choose?
Captain Dunsel
“Mariska Hargitay”–Mike Myers.
Gwynning
Jerry Orbach! Kung, kungggg
DonOsbourne
Sgt Hank Voight, Chicago PD. No doubt about it.
Yankee Clipper
Vic Mackey
Gwynning
Good one Clip! Columbo would be my second pick.
prov356
Baretta.
chitownheat87
Frank Drebin
atlbraves2010
this is the winner right here
User 2079935927
Dreblin- Ippie did you bet baseball?
Ippei- Right now I can’t tell you.
Dreblin- Oh Please I’m a Police Officer!!
Ippei- I don’t know, Not for another 2 days.
Dreblin- You can’t tell me for another 2 days?
Bucket Number Six
Well, OJ’s character can’t do it anymore.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Jimmy McNulty (or McNutty). Ohtani repped by Maurice Levy. Avon Barksdale gots the bookie in prison.
James Midway
TJ Hooker would get the truth
Non Roster Invitee
Jimmy McGill for the cove up.
Luis_Fazenda
Sgt. Joe Friday
Gwynning
Ok, final pick, going dark and saying Daredevil and Punisher play Good Cop/Bad Cop in an interrogation room.
YankeesBleacherCreature
That hallway fight will be epic when they can’t agree on tactics.
wreckage
Ron Burgundy. Investigative reporter.
IHLgulls
Frank Pembleton
DarkSide830
Only one I know is Columbo. That special would do numbers.
Johnny Vander Meer
Rustin Cohle.
RandorBierd
Carl Winslow.
User 3180623956
Detective Phil Fish, 12th precinct
AngelsFan1968
Wojo! Although Dietrich would be great too.
Bucket Number Six
Very well put!
DongKelly
McGarnigle
Pingston
Perry Mason (Raymond Burr)
Bucket Number Six
Not TV, but I’d pick the Guy Pearce character from LA Confidential. That guy was on fire.
Agador Spartacus
Adrian Monk
Manfred’s playing with the balls
Farva and Ramathorn
Akakak
I need a litre of cola!
solaris602
My first pick was Elliott Stabler followed by Ford Fairlane
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Although he played a defense attorney, I would like to see the prosecutor be Joe Pesci in character from My Cousin Vinnie.
Non Roster Invitee
Kousuke Kindaichi. Great Japanese fictional .detective
DonOsbourne
Ohtani has made a lot of money playing baseball. But it’s hard to believe he could lose 4.5 million and not be aware of it. I’m sure he has accountants that handle his money. I doubt he keeps it in a coffee can under the bed. The story just doesn’t add up for me. It’s too much money.
Jerry Hairston Jr's Toupee
Well, if you have hundreds of millions….
DonOsbourne
I doubt he has hundreds of millions liquid. I seriously doubt it.
JPR
Maybe arithmetic is not your strong suit.
DonOsbourne
By all means, explain it.
CardsFan57
I want to know why someone with a staff of accountants gave access to his bank accounts to his interpreter. This story is highly unlikely. At a minimum, Ohtani knew he was paying his friend’s gambling debts. To me that’s the least damaging explanation to this story.
Kaz
Why is it so hard to understand? Ippei wasn’t just simply an interpreter to Ohtani, they did just about everything together training, working out, eating, and probably slept under the same roof more often then Ohtani did with his own wife. If you wanted something from Ohtani there was very big chance that Ippei would involved in some way.
And yeah I would definitely say that Ohtani placed more trust into Ippei than he did to his accountants.
CardsFan57
So you’re saying Ohtani is a complete fool. I don’t think that’s true. I’m a trusting person. No one who isn’t certified and bonded is getting access to my money even if they have the same last name as me.
AngelsFan1968
Ohtani is no fool. He’s the one that came up with the contract structure the greatly benefits the Dodgers and himself, tax wise.
As Arnold Schwarzenegger said in his debate when running for governor of California, that ‘loop hole is so big, I can drive my Hummer through it’.
dairy_sanders
So you’re saying that he spends more time with the guy than his wife – BUT over multiple years, and multiple money wires worth of losses adding up to $4M+…. He never saw the pattern of him checking on multiple games across multiple sports thinking it strange enough to ask why he cared? Never saw his mood change or was told by his best friend in the world about a big win or a bad beat? If you can buy that, you’ve never lived with an addicted gambler. I know people that would lie to their spouse about not being at the horse track, and still tell enough people about their wins that day to be found out a week later, multiple times. That’s addiction
Akakak
To the people screaming “tin foil hat”
This is what critical thinking looks like!
Jerry Hairston Jr's Toupee
Read the ESPN story. Feds detail it all….
BlueSkies_LA
Yeah, well Ohtani is also the ballplayer who in Japan continued to live in the team dormitory long after he could afford to move out. He wanted no distractions in his life so he could focus totally on baseball and accomplish his personal goals in the game, and they are very specific. He’s basically a baseball savant who needs trustworthy people around him to look after the other stuff.
I’m not sure why some find this is so hard to accept, but all the actual evidence we’ve seen so far points to him having picked the wrong person to trust. Call him naive if you like, but that sure doesn’t make him a bad person. So it all adds up, unless you really don’t want it to add up.
Cheap Seats
Agree
I was fleeced by my stealing lying ex-wife. Was too late once I figured it out. I am a well-educated hard-working professional, I didn’t spend much on myself and I assumed we’d never go broke because I earned and saved so much. I was working hard and dedicated to my job and my family so I didn’t have time to “waste” watching account balances (lesson learned, but too late).
Ohtani hasn’t had to worry about money, so maybe he didn’t (or didn’t until this lesson), and from all accounts he’s not a big spender He’s not the first athlete to be the victim of entitled hangers-on.
I was skeptical of this story at first but I’m starting to believe Ohtani is a completely innocent victim here. Just because he’s way richer and more talented than most of us will ever be doesn’t mean he’s a villain.
CarolinaCubsandKush
You must not realize how much money even 1 million is. He makes 60+ mil a year in endorsements. That’s part of why he wanted to defer his entire salary. He doesn’t need or use the money. People this rich don’t have any clue how much money they really have because they don’t look at their accounts regularly. This guy eats, sleeps and breathes baseball. English is not his first language. He was likely having Ippei do all of his American accounting. You have to change your mindset because its completely different for young wealthy athletes compared to the rest of us.
BlueSkies_LA
It depends on the person. People who made their fortunes through business or finance probably know their net worth on any given day right down to the penny, because being good at managing their money is how they got so much of it in the first place.
We shouldn’t expect someone who made their money by hitting and throwing baseballs to have financial skills or knowledge because it has nothing to do with how they made their fortunes. In fact it’s pretty common for athletes who made a lot of money at their sport to end up broke. Lottery winners often do too. If you have a lot of money someone is going to try to take it from you, and if you are unprepared, they will probably get it.
We already know that Mizuhara fabricated at least part of his own biography. We know that he has a gambling problem. We know that he lied. We also know that Ohtani made the mistake of trusting him. That’s the story so far.
yanks2323
Fall guy!
C Yards Jeff
Agreed. Interested to see how MLB responds to the findings here. I say at minimum Ohtani has to be held accountable to the fact that millions of his dollars ended up in the account(s) of an illegal business.
To me, the optics here look really bad. MLB, owners and the PA, should impose more than a slap on the wrist? How about suspending him from playing the rest of this year? He comes back next year ready to both hit and pitch.
BlueSkies_LA
The findings have yet to be found. But I wonder, in what way do you imagine Ohtani should be “held accountable” if someone did in fact steal his money?
BTW, an important fact to know here is while this bookie has been under investigation for years, he has yet to be charged with any crimes.
C Yards Jeff
Held accountable because his money went to a business, legal or not, that can take down baseball. Using this incident, MLB sends a message to all players to use the best in judgement when you or those around you may enjoy partaking in gambling and gaming activity. This cannot get out of hand.
kellin
It’s clear that those making accusations that Ohtani is guilty have zero idea how technology works. Banks keep logs of devices that connect to their networks. It’s trivial to look those up and determine which devices were used and at one time. If he deactivated the notifications so Ohtani wouldn’t see, to me, that’s a clear sign of guilt. Everyone seems to be guilty without due process anymore.
JPR
Yep. Trial by social media is the new norm.
Yankee Clipper
The thing is…. And this is where it’s a bit muddy…the story didn’t say he disabled *all notifications*, just certain ones that seemed to enabled him to siphon more than the $4.5MM initially reported.
I am curious as to which notifications because that would tell its own story. Then, it begs the questions: how/why did Ippei have access to millions of dollars.
I’m not suggesting there isn’t a reason, but it does leave a lot of room for questions about Ohtani’s knowledge, or lack thereof.
jerseyjohn
No one cares what we think and speculation is to be expected on a website with comments. Riddle me this… Ohtani has to have “people” managing his money, how did his money people not notice 4.5 million being siphoned off? There certainly seems to be more to this story but not sure it ever comes out.
cadagan
You need to be allowed due process in a court of law. Not real life.
Real life allows shortcuts, reasonable thinking, versus jobs for laws to tell you what is ethical. If you think law=ethics then stop reading.
Yes, it might me reasonable to say, I don’t know all the facts, so no comment.
People generally don’t want to stay quiet and revisit a news story five years later when all the facts are gathered from every source.
If someone you saw beats your daughter. Welp. Can’t make a decision until due process. May as well also wait until the court decides also, because until then, nothing happened. It is possible to not use the courts, and to use our brain.
adj1970
Explain how an interpreter got a 5 million dollar line of credit from a bookie?
Kash Considerations
I could see where Ippei lied to the bookie and said this is all for Ohtani? Idk jus saying.
CardsFan57
Ippei can’t grant himself access to Ohtani’s bank accounts. I’m needing an explanation for that access.
dan-9
Absolutely plausible explanation: Ohtani granted him access because he trusted him and wanted someone he trusted to handle day-to-day transactions. Super-rich people do not go through the same thought processes as you or I when it comes to their finances. I absolutely find it believable that he would put the accounting in the hands of a friend he trusted so that he wouldn’t have to deal with it himself, and didn’t notice the missing money because a) when you have so many contracts and endorsement deals, it’s hard to keep track of exactly how much money is supposed to there, and b) when you are worth $100 million+, it genuinely wouldn’t matter to you if your balance was a few million less than it should be. The money is not Ohtani’s primary concern, and he’s shown that that throughout his career. Baseball is his primary concern.
Akakak
Bookies that can handle 16 million in bets on credit always take random japanese interpreters word at face value and have zero recourse in vetting their clients.
None.
Jerry Hairston Jr's Toupee
Read the espn.com story….
cards1994
4.5 Million missing for over 6 months and Ohtani never knew it. Hmm
joemoes
He’s the fall guy. I would say Ohtani’s representation doesn’t even know the whole story. You know the old saying three people can’t keep a secret.
I would say the truth is probably ohtani likes betting on sports. He probably didn’t bet on himself or against the angels a book wouldn’t take action like that inowbirs ohtani.
Ohtani loves to gamble they didn’t want that getting out interpreter took the fall
Akakak
Yup hes the cash cow, his image and marketing reach are literally worth over a billion dollars
Its not hard to see whats going on here
ATinz
The amount of haters that want nothing more than Ohtani to be guilty of this blows my mind. Ask yourself this question, if Ohtani was on your team, would you want the same? If the answer is no, you’re just a hater, if the answer is yes, then you are a liar.
LordD99
If Ohtani was betting they’d discover it. The government doesn’t care about Ohtani’s baseball reputation.
DarkSide830
^ finally, someone who gets it
GASoxFan
But would they? You just need to sever *one* link in the chain – the interpreter.
Think about it. If ohtani never spoke directly to the bookie, it doesn’t matter if the bookie thought it was ohtani betting or not. That’s not proof ohtani bet.
If every bet went in from ippei, and, ohtani *only* told ippei what when and how to bet. Then, if ohtani didn’t tell anyone else he was betting…. if you make it worth ippei’s time to keep his mouth shut and claim responsibility….. dead end.
You just need ohtani to have kept his mouth shut about betting except to ippei, and, buy ippei off.
All the rest never gets past reasonable doubt.
Akakak
But the govt does care about baseballs reputation
CardsFan57
How did Ohtani’s interpreter gain access to his bank accounts? That is a very fair question. Someone needs to answer it.
GASoxFan
Power of attorney that was supposed to be used for charitable donations/procurements purposes? Banks could rely on it expecting ohtani to monitor the holder of the power.
CardsFan57
Interpreter given power of attorney instead of his accountants? Really?
Ignorant Son-of-a-b
@CardsFan57 You’re assuming Ohtani has a “team of accountants” or some group of people that watches his money. I have never seen that stipulated anywhere. Just because you’re a multi-millionaire doesnt mean you have all these things in place.
YankeesBleacherCreature
@CardsFan57 Reporters have interviewed former interpreters of Japanese players and some have said that it’s plausible for someone like Mizuhara to have some access to their bosses’ financials bc they often act as personal assistants as well. Ohtani and him were also bffs. You can find these interviews yourself.
CardsFan57
$4.5 dollars access? My adult children would never have that kind of access until I’m dead or declared incompetent.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Are they at your beck and call 24/7 and drive you to work every day and stay to help you do your job? If one of them did so for years on end, you may offer them a debit card perhaps?
66TheNumberOfTheBest
Things have gone awry when your guilty plea might well be perjury.
LeMike
Remember that didn’t stop Greg Anderson, he chose to be incarcerated than to testify against Barry Bonds and it was multiple times. Comes to mind also the guys from the Pittsburgh trials of the 80s.
jerseyjohn
I’m still having a very hard time imagining a bookie letting the interpreter get that deep in. Bookies don’t let you get into that kind of debt just because you have rich friends. They need to be able to collect the money without you having to pull off a robbery.
YankeesBleacherCreature
You can if you keep introducing rich friends to the bookie to make bets and give them more favorable odds than legitimate betting outlets. I’ve mentioned this before that he was so bad at gambling from the get-go that he was never going to see a net dollar hit his own bank account. If he keeps introducing other whales, why cut him off?
jerseyjohn
Admittedly I’m no expert but… Don’t bookies function like legitimate sports betting where they try to balance out the action? If there’s winners on the other side of that 4.5 million someone paid them. All that being said I’m sure bookies do appreciate new rubes being brought to them, just not sure how much extra rope that would get you.
YankeesBleacherCreature
It’s likely he had history of substantial loss payments to the bookie. Each time he made a payment, his credit line would get increased. Every time he introduced a new client, he would earn referral betting credits which would not be valid towards negative balance repayment. Unlike legit betting outlets, bookies can limit cashout amounts to control their own cash flow. Winning bettors are OK with that arrangement bc they won’t need to report and pay taxes on their winnings.
Johnny utah
Biggest crock of s*** of all time
Manfred is a f’in joke
The sport is a f’in joke
This poor interpreter is forced to take the fall
To save ohtani & his public image/career
Ohtani is a degenerate gambler. Deserves permanent ban like hit king & jail time!!!
Absolutely unbelievable!!!
Johnny utah
Or bring Pete back & let him into HOF!
This one belongs to the Reds
They might as well as MLB is in bed with gambling now.
B-rocker
Johnny U. You are a fool.
ATinz
And an angry one at that……
Citizen1
Check the Japan records of who was betting amongst the two. Sometimes addictions just don’t go away with a change of scenery.
Tabata's Adopted Son
I think Ohtani was doing the gambling, and I don’t care. As long as he wasn’t betting against his team, I don’t care at all.
Oldguy58
And you know he wasn’t betting against his team how?
Tabata's Adopted Son
I don’t “know” but I don’t think he was. I’m just here to watch the guys hit a ball with a stick.
Luke Strong
I believe Ohtani.
While I don’t like his contract because it will cost cities and states huge amounts of tax revenue that they’ll never collect based on his salary structure, money they all desperately need, more than Ohtani does, tax scam aside, I do think he’s the victim of theft and he never knew about it.
RandorBierd
Because our politicians use our tax dollars so judiciously.
Luke Strong
Yes, definitely more so at the city and state levels, don’t kid yourself here. Every baseball city and state needs all the tax revenue they can get. Plus, why should he be able to avoid paying taxes that you or I or anyone else has to pay? Seems unfair to me, doesn’t it seem unfair to you too?
RandorBierd
I’m not particularly concerned with the concept of fair. There’s so much government bloat and waste that any penny someone can avoid sending to the government I say more power to them. If our government had less money to waste, perhaps we could stop lining the pockets of politicians, stop fighting needless wars, and start taking care of the homeless and needy lining the streets in every baseball city.
jerseyjohn
Since something insane like 25% of our monetary supply has been created in the last 4 years… They should just fire up the presses and print our tax dollars. We’re doing that right now for a proxy war.
raisinsss
Well that’s one way to turn $700m into $460m
Oldguy58
Uh huh
foppert2
I want to believe him. Lying about the home run ball meeting makes that harder.
Dock_Elvis
Foppert2-
He legit lied about meeting them? Good lordy.
Inside Out
All you idiots who tried to blame Ohtani and even now keep trying to avoid admitting you were stupid and let your distrust of non white people plus hate of dodgers blind you to fact that Ohtani is honest and a victim should shut up and apologize
Liberalsteve
This is the dumbest and most immature post I have ever come across. Hopefully, you are under the age of 21
CCooper8920
Right and Greg Anderson never gave Bonds steroids. We will never know the full truth but there are 4.5 million reasons for this guy to fall on the sword for Ohtani. The first story still seems to make the most sense; Ohtani was covering the debts for a very close friend and didn’t realize he was breaking the law, so now that friend will do the time to protect Ohtani.
CardsFan57
This is the least damaging and still believable explanation to this story. I find it incredibly hard to believe that the interpreter was granted access to Ohtani’s bank accounts.
BallBag
Pete Rose, 1 interpreter shy of the HoF
ohyeadam
Would any other player under this circumstance be put on administrative leave? Can’t remember when a player under investigation by the league, yet alone the FBI, wasn’t.
Cheap Seats
There’s gotta be plausible reason to think he’s guilty of something – not clear even the feds suspect him.
ohyeadam
Under investigation = plausible to me
Salzilla
I love the sleuths it doesn’t add up for, even if it does for the actual Federal Investigators.
1984wasntamanual
Are the federal investigators supposed to be some high standard? You must be 12.
Salzilla
I’m sorry for thinking of them more highly with all of their training and experience vs. you dudes on the toilet with your cellphones and critical tthinking. Humble apologies from this 12 (+36) year old.
DarrenDreifortsContract
#justiceforohtani
alstott40
the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle .. ippei was probably making the easiest half million a year to help his meal ticket .. says a lot about ohtani if someone that close was able to pull the wool over his eyes repeatedly
CUZ
Nobody is buying this story MLB
fred-3
It’s very weird how baseball fans want MLB’s last chance at a global superstar in prison and banned from the sport.
Whiskey and leather balls
Oh yeah def very weird for the gullible who only see him as that….not blaming the local blackouts and laughably rising costs to attend a game while attendance and ratings fall and 9 figure players salaries become the norm…while the local netwkorks file for bankruptcy. .lmfao let me put my blinders on tenfold and place a bet
Hotdog 2
Are you saying that people should want different laws for different people because of our own selfish reasons? You are right though. I wonder how many more worldwide athletes are more recognizable than the 2nd most famous MLB guy(judge?)
fred-3
You’re telling me you have more info than the FBI that implicates Ohtani of a crime? Present your facts if you do
Jelvisdela
This post was brought to you by FanDuel. Or draft kings. One of the two.
Nothing is gonna happen to Ohtani, regardless of whether or not he was ignorant or complicit in all of this.
The best thing to do is move on with your lives.
Also – Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame.
shosho
Was it reported that Shohei had a key man clause and that Ippei may have been one of those key men?
Whiskey and leather balls
If Ohtani’s intrepreters bookie had an all access pass to the bank roll of Ohtanis funds why would he need the interpreter? Don’t be foolish or that naive it is what it is at this point..
Whiskey and leather balls
Literally blacked out from Cubs@Padres games despite being more than 1200 miles from either city……i sincerely wish mlb could explain that atrocity
Whiskey and leather balls
They think the padres double-A team here in San Antonio has that big of a following? I’ve been here for 15 years they are horribly misguided to say the very very least
Lefty_Orioles_Fan
Disabling the Notifications?
Did he disable the Notifications to Ohtani’s accountant
Or was the accountant taking a snooze?
None of this makes sense to me
Plus what about all those bank wire fees that accumulated? Beneficiary Deductions?
Something smells here still
BlueSkies_LA
Something smells in your thinking. Time to take it to the trash.
latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-11/ohtanis-fo…
Lefty_Orioles_Fan
Well, this article does not say all that much
BlueSkies_LA
Well, this article says pretty much everything, especially if you watch the video. You will know that Mizuhara became Ohtani’s intermediary on everything and succeeded in keeping his finances private, even from his agent, and when he needed to deal with the bank he impersonated Ohtani. It’s all there, it’s all documented, and Mizuhara has confessed. Why this is so hard for some to figure out or accept puzzles me no end.
Lefty_Orioles_Fan
The accountant gets monthly bank statements
16 million bucks just leaving the account is horrific
BlueSkies_LA
You don’t actually know who got what. It was an embezzlement. He skimmed for years. Nobody is saying it was good.
User 2161944466
Can’t wait for MLB to look the other way when Jackson Holliday’s interpreter is involved in criminal activity.
waldfee
Fall guy.
njbirdsfan
So Pete Rose gets investigated by multiple parties, but Saint Ohtani says he knew nothing, and case closed.
This is exactly what I’d expect from society today. We have morals and standards…until money is there to be made. If this is a bench player on the Dodgers, dude’s banished yesterday.
BlueSkies_LA
So this case is obviously far from “closed” but those of us with memories remember that Pete Rose actually gambled on baseball, including on a team he managed. For years he denied it, then tried to excuse it by claiming it was okay because he never bet against his own team. To this day he has never come clean. I mean, speaking of morals and standards.
CKinSTL
If there were no bets placed on baseball, this is in a completely different category from what Rose was doing.
Well Hung
The true story, the guy who plays baseball is paying the guy who doesn’t play baseball to take the hit for him
IrishFanAZ
How do you know this to be true? You seem to be reacting emotionally rather than factually.
Well Hung
Everything here is just opinions, it’s literally called MLB rumors not facts dude
Pax vobiscum
The number of rock stars actors and other celebs that have been bilked to the point of near bankruptcy by their managers is a long list indeed.
njbirdsfan
Hey I’m curious if any of the Shobaes can text me when their God takes his morning dump. Seeing as you have Google alerts set for everything else about him. Thanks.
Mercenary.Freddie.Freeman
I will never believe Ohtani had nothing to do with the gambling. Nothing adds up and it seems nothing was done to investigate it. Hero to zero.
CKinSTL
If they can prove Ohtani was involved but there was no betting on baseball.. is this a big deal? Sure, there is probably a league suspension and some legal issues but it hardly seems like a career ending event.
Therealrandymarsh
Possible dodgers clubhouse issues here?? Urias,Bauer, ohtani, ownership hahaha
Cachhubguy
Since we’ll probably never hear all the evidence, I’m interested more in what the bookie says. We KNOW he’s guilty. He is facing jail time. So, which story does he say is true?
greg1
I think what’s lost in this is that $4.5M+ of Ohtani’s money disappeared and he didn’t even notice it. Either that amount is chump change for him, or that he needs to pay a little more attention to his finances.
Therealrandymarsh
Maybe he did notice…then a story had to be made up to explain it all…hope no one involved has any relevant texts, call logs, or emails!!
Well Hung
Let’s be honest, someone who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, has a accountant, a agent, a marketing team, and probably a few people doing things for him as well, and the interpreter out smarted them all and prevented the banks from contacting him, criminal mastermind who is also stupid making bets to the tune of 4.5 million spread out over multiple payments, sounds reasonable
Chris from NJ
So let me get this straight. He disabled Othani’s mobile banking alerts and that’s all it took to take over 4 million dollars?? I get it that he was Othani’s number 1 but really?? Either this guy is falling on the grenade for Othani or Othani needs to learn that you can’t trust anyone when it comes to money.
Well Hung
A few months ago he had incredible business savvy , deferred money to keep team competitive, make sure certain front office people aren’t let go, looked into the dodgers minor league system strength, multiple opt outs , setting up the financial ramifications of a ten year contract spread out over 2 decades nobody notices a consistent sizable money drain , sorry dude knew all along
RynoChaser
Yeah, now the federal investigators are covering for him…. Because they’re big baseball fans?
Macbeth
The 700 million dollar cover up.
User 2079935927
Ford Fairlane Rock and Roll Detective
Money Money Money ….
Dock_Elvis
I’m not really sure what to make of a guilty plea bargain. Does that mean the Feds have evidence that it truly was the interpreter? Or is that just falling on the sword? I really don’t know. I’d like good info.
What I do like is that the Feds and IRS have the bookie. That’ll help either truly clear Ohtani, or implicate him further.
While I can potentially see the interpreter taking it for the team. It’s HIGHLY unlikely the bookie will roll over.
High roller bookie. His computers are going to have some potentially damning info on some people. I believe Puig was already caught up. Any bookie handling 4.5M in bets, or debts, has some high profile business clientele. Even if Ohtani is cleared….this will be interesting.
I hope Ohtani IS cleared. MLB needs more bad PR like I need a broom handle enema.
YankeesBleacherCreature
The feds have a 95%+ conviction rate during trials. They’re not charging and arresting without overwhelming evidence for an eventual slam-dunk win. The bookie is 99% rolling over to plea down charges and jail time.
Dock_Elvis
The word of the bookie under threat of prison time will mean a little more to me than the interpreter pleading. I’m not trying to be conspiratorial at all. But pleading out for him would be part of the entire cover up for Ohtani should that be the case. Ridiculous we’re in a world with zero trust in people and institutions.
I guess 10 years from now we’ll see if the interpreter makes any usual purchases that seem a little above his means. I believe that’s what tipped the Lufthansa Heist. Some of that mob crew started flashing cash around.
In all sincerity I hope Ohtani comes out with a reasonable amount of public innocence. MLB has enough issues either bad PR.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Covering up for Ohtani is entirely possible but the feds will leave no stones unturned before accepting Mizuhara’s plea bargain. I personally know of someone who took a state gun charge for a still famous rapper and spent two years in prison. He was given seed money to start an urban clothing line when he got out.
Dock_Elvis
If there’s hard data that Ohtani was involved. It’s in the bookie system. His word might not be enough. I think if I WAS making book for celebrities I’d have a paper trail.
jimthegoat
How does filihok even see any comments at all when he reads these threads?
… MUTED!
agood
Ippei gonna get PAID
saluelthpops
Negotiating with the Feds or with Ohtani?
norcalblue
filihok, this comment section is a sad, sad metaphor for what we see regularly in this country. Facts that undermine the credibility of false narratives explained away with conspiracy theories and even more fantastical false narratives.
Munsonmanor4
I’d like to know IF this is the actual events, what did the interpreter tell the bookie to get a line of credit like that. He ain’t making that much coin to get at minimum 4.5 million credit line.
Chicks dig bunting
hey just any one on here willing to share there bank account with me especially if you have millions in there
Chicks dig bunting
So ohtani shared his bank account with this guy which has millions in there anyone on this I want to do that for me please you know it’s to pay the debts off
Informed Sportsball Discussion
Fanboy-ism and joke-making aside, it is at least plausible Ohtani trusted his interpreter with his affairs and did not scrutinize what was going on.
Mizuhara will enter this guilty plea, and that will probably be the end of this story, much to MLB’s relief.
If it were just MLB investigating and not the Feds, I’d have more concerns there is more to this. But if the story is good enough for the Feds, it is more likely to be true.
It’s not impossible Ohtani knew more or was involved in more, but proving someone innocent 100% is impossible in most cases, hence the need to prove guilt instead.
I will make the humble suggestion Ohtani pay closer attention to the goings-on with his bank accounts.
CKinSTL
He certainly wouldn’t be the first celebrity to get scammed by a trusted individual.
Ippei potentially would have been in a unique position to do such a thing because he could control all the communication going to and from Ohtani. Any communication between Ohtani and his financial advisors likely would have gone through Ippei.. and he could have adjusted the message however he saw fit.
Certainly doesn’t prove anything but it makes the story a little more believable to me.
Twinswanker
That’s handy. I wonder how much Ohtani had to pay for him to take the fall?
Yankeesforever
Ohtani bet this would happen.
2020vision
Have the interpreter show exactly how he transferred the money without Ohtani’s help. That might clear things up once and for all.
nosake
New year’s resolution: stop reacting to trolls.
Cheap Seats
As of now there’s no reason not to believe Ohtani other than natural skepticism. The story sounds plausible and if the feds believe him so be it.
And if he is in fact a gambler, his addiction won’t just disappear. It’ll show up and he’ll get caught. Addicts can’t stop so easily.
In the meantime, even in the worst case scenario he wasn’t accused of a heinous crime a la OJ or Wander Franco or even something that tarnished the integrity of the game.
LeMike
Gambling is prohibited in MLB’s constitution because it tarnishes the integrity of the game, that’s why Pete Rose was banned even though the investigator declared he wasn’t able to find any evidence of Pete gambling in baseball.
We could argue that MLB was right when Pete declared almost 30 years after his suspension that he indeed gambled in baseball but the facts back when he was suspended was that there wasn’t evidence.
Sure nowadays people love to use their moralism to retroactively judge what Rose was doing in his private life in the 70s to confirm that what MLB did was right, but that just goes to show how modern society has changed their moral values, we live in an extremely conservative society morally wise in some aspects. What people did in the 50s-60s-70s doesn’t fly right now.
Saludos.
mattynokes
Maybe Ohtani knew or was complicit in the gambling. However, I think it’s very plausible that he didn’t know. In my line of work, I’ve found that a lot of people don’t understand what you’re doing when you give someone joint access to your account.. I think it’s very possible that Ohtani knowingly allowed Mizuhara to access his money.
With his endorsement deals, I figure a few million is nothing more than fun money to him. You’d think Ohtani would know, but consider that being a friend of Ohtani’s, he might have trusted Mizuhara to be honest with the spending.to the point of being naive. That would explain why Ohtani isn’t filing charges against Mizuhara and seems relatively unaffected by the spending.
BlueSkies_LA
It’s early days so we don’t know what charges will be filed or by who. In fact we don’t even know if Mizuhara is in the United States currently. Last we knew he was in South Korea and did not return with the team. I wouldn’t read anything into what Ohtani has done so far. If Mizuhara is pleading to federal charges Ohtani doesn’t need to press any himself.
Mojo37
Meanwhile, as of today Ohtani is leading MLB in doubles (eight), tied with teammate Mookie Betts for the league lead in total bases (40) and tied with another teammate, Will Smith, for second place in the NL in hits (21). Shohei seems completely distracted doesn’t he?
Salad Daze 22-27
I’d be satisfied to see him keep being ‘distracted’ throughout the year! The man has laser like focus.
Mojo37
For those of you who would care to obtain more facts about this case as opposed to mindless conjecture, watch the Federal prosecutors’ video here: latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-11/ohtanis-fo…
BlueSkies_LA
Let us not kid ourselves into believing that facts will make any difference to those who prefer mindless conjecture.
Mojo37
@Blue I am under no such illusion
BlueSkies_LA
But you wish you could, right?
I’m not either, btw. 🙁
Mojo37
fighting the good fight Blue.
filihok
Mojo
Your comment will get very few replies
Mojo37
@ filihok sure. but if one troll sees the light…I can dream can’t I?
filihok
Mojo
Fight the good fight
Mojo37
where Ohtani came from is two MVP awards. He will be “back to where he came from” with a third MVP shortly.
LeMike
All of this brings to memory what happened in the Pittsburgh Trials of the 80s: why would a bunch of guys take the blame and wouldn’t incriminate their clients further?
And of course a bit of what happened with Greg Anderson who opted to be incarcerated for obstruction of justice, when he refused to testify against his client Barry Bonds.
Smells fishy and for those wondering what would MLB gain… there have been instances where MLB has done some sketchy things.
Remember that MLB banned Angel Presinal from all MLB parks and training sites, and went hard for all players Angel trained…. except for David Ortíz who even build him a training facilty in the DR where Canó, Melky Cabrera and Miguel Tejada trained because Presinal had the reputation of being David’s personal trainer.
Manfred went as far as saying publicly that Ortiz was clean from anything anybody might have suspected and thus should be elected to the HoF. When somebody has ties to a known dealer who was caught…. what did MLB gain? was he a whistleblower or simply too big for MLB to go for him? MLB’s prime target were always Bonds and Alex Rodríguez (including acquiring evidence retrieved in a illegal manner that would normally be rejected in a court).
So… yeah, MLB has had so much controversies, coverups and conspiracy theories that makes them look like they belong to a pulp magazine.
My take in all of this? Ohtani knew, MLB doesn’t want to know and will be happy if it all ends like this, the fed gov will go hard against the interpreter and in a year all of this will be forgoten**.
**unless Ohtani does something extremely bad in 5 years like yelling to his wife… but only if he is not productive anymore and ditching his salary works well for the owners.
Saludos.
BlueSkies_LA
This is 100% fried baloney.
BannedMarlinsFanBase
This is a well put together post about the dark stuff that has gone on.
And yes, David Ortiz was a shameful thing with his ties to Anegl Presinal. People also ignored the Mike Piazza was part of Presinal’s “training” program back when he would train at Miami Dade College. And there were whispers of Pedro Martinez and Vladi Guerrero being clients as well.
And let me not get started on the Pittsburgh Drug Trials when word got out about Willie Mays and his “special red juice”. And talk about MLB fairness. Keith Hernandez is not a Hall of Famer because of that trial and his off the field issues, but other guys are?
Dock_Elvis
Players in the 1985 Pittsburgh Drug Trials were given immunity.
BannedMarlinsFanBase
Yes, I remember that about the immunity of the drug trials. But still as of today, Keith Hernandez is not a Hall of Famer, and people still talk like Willie Mays was a clean player, despite the known thing about his “special red juice”.
Dock_Elvis
Oh, it absolutely tarnishes public perception. John Milner named Willie Stargell for the juice too. Amphetamines just weren’t seen as a horrible thing quite. Dr’s Rx’d them. Coke was dirty.
BannedMarlinsFanBase
Yeah, that’s right. I forgot about Stargell being named too.
Doctors didn’t give Willie what he had. I remember something about it being a home cocktail of sorts that he and Bobby Bonds used to use (I wonder where Barry learned).
Dock_Elvis
If we were to get into amphetamine history in the game…We’d have to include a LOT of players. They were so prevalent. When they were banned a decade ago..whenever that occurred, we actually seemed to see a dip in production…if I’m not totally off-base.
Coke was a social taboo involving criminal elements in a society that was much less jaded then…and one that certainly didn’t deal with substance abuse as a potential disease…didn’t deal with mental illness, etc.
I wouldn’t call amphetamines “beer level” of acceptance, but halfway down the totem to coke and heroin
Dock_Elvis
My take is that Ohtani was used in a long term con game. He became aware at some point that his “friend” owned 4.5M in gambling debts. That he might not have been aware if the greater extent of 16M being stolen from him. Perhaps.
But that he DID help him pay off the 4.5M. And that’s enough to secure a one year suspension from MLB under the CBA. Anyone naive enough to let one person handle their finances. They’d pay off an illegal bookmaker not realizing it broke RICO statutes for wire fraud.
And this is what I believe if Ohtani is “innocent”. I’d buy this much. But I’m not sure he wasn’t part of this.
They always say that the truth often is closest to the time of the incident. This was first reported that Ohtani helped him. When the lawyers got involved that was retracted.