Former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani faces bank fraud charges in sports betting case
He stole more than $16 million from Ohtani’s bank accounts to pay for his own sports betting and lied to the bank to access the account, the prosecutor said.
www.wwnytv.com
U.S. Attorney Marin Estrada announced the charges Thursday.
Ippei Mizuhara served as Ohtani’s interpreter after Ohtani came to the U.S. to play baseball. Estrada says Mizhuara “acted as Mr. Ohtani’s de facto manager.”
Estrada says Mizuhara helped Ohtani set up a bank account where Ohtani developed his baseball salary. Estrada says Mizuhara stole more than $16 million from Ohtani’s bank accounts to pay for his own sports betting and lied to the bank to access the account.