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Eastern baseballer Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter has been accused of stealing more than $16m (£12.75m) from the Los Angeles Dodgers star to conceal gambling money owed.
Ippei Mizuhara is charged with bank fraud after allegedly stealing the funds from an fable of Ohtani that he helped to position up.
In accordance with the US Felony educated for the Central District of California, E. Martin Estrada, those funds were despatched to an unlawful sports actions gambling operation.
The cash turned into once allegedly stolen over a two-Twelve months duration from an fable where Ohtani – who signed a myth $700m contract to be a part of the LA Dodgers this season – obtained his salary.
Investigators win no longer found any proof to counsel Mizuhara positioned bets on baseball games, in line with Mr Estrada.
Ohtani, who is regarded as a sufferer and is never any longer accused of any wrongdoing, mentioned final month he felt “betrayed” by Mizuhara, who turned into once a conclude buddy.
“I am very saddened and fearful that any individual who I trusted has performed this,” Ohtani mentioned at a info conference in Los Angeles on 25 March.
“Ippei has been stealing money from my fable and has told lies.”
Mizuhara started gambling with an unlawful sports actions book and losing enormous sums in dead 2021, in line with a gorgeous myth on Thursday.
He once more and once more impersonated Ohtani to “trick and deceive” bank workers into authorising wire transfers, the papers speak.
They add that on or about 20 March, while messaging a bookmaker about reports he had stolen from Ohtani, Mizuhara wrote “technically I did steal from him, or no longer it’s all one of the crucial top ways thru for me”.
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Mizuhara met Ohtani, who didn’t know English, in 2013 and helped him to position up a bank fable shortly after he arrived within the US in 2018, Mr Estrada mentioned.
He added Mizuhara had an “insatiable appetite for unlawful sports actions gambling” and accessed Ohtani’s bank fable online.
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Bank fraud carries a most sentence of 30 years in jail and Mizuhara is anticipated to assemble his first court appearance within the conclude to future.
Mizuhara’s authorized educated, Michael Freedman, mentioned his client had no touch upon the pricetag.