The former translator for Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani turned himself in today and had his first court appearance in Los Angeles. Ippei Mizuhara did not enter a plea.
The Federal Judge handling the case ordered the former Ohtani translator to get gambling addiction treatment. There are reports that negotiations are underway to work out a plea bargain in the case.
Former Ohtani Translator Won a Lot of Money, Just Not Enough
Ippei Mizuhara is charged with one count of bank fraud and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Federal prosecutors say he stole more than $16 million from the superstar to pay his gambling debts.
These numbers are incredible: Mizuhara actually won more than $142 million in illegal bets. Prosecutors say he deposited the winnings into his own bank account, not Ohtani’s. That sounds good, until you find out he lost about $183 million — a net loss of nearly $41 million. Not good.
Major League Baseball opened its own investigation after the controversy surfaced, and the Dodgers immediately fired Mizuhara.
Polarizing Columnist Still has Questions about Ohtani
Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke kinda, sorta, apologized to Shohei Ohtani without actually usinng the word ‘sorry’. Many sports fans in Los Angeles spend a lot of time trolling Plaschke online because he’s very outspoken. In Fact, he’s polarizing.
Here are just a few of the comments: “Honestly, Plaschke being wrong is his default mode. He’s the worst,” and, my favorite, “Bill Plaschke, the same ***** that wanted the Lakers to trade Kobe multiple times. Biggest ***** in sports media.”
In a column posted Thursday afternoon, Plaschke wrote, “That smell is gone. That garbage has been pushed to the curb. As Mizuhara was being condemned Thursday, Ohtani was being vindicated, and many of the questions were being answered.”
For More Great Sports Content
Bradley Tachco is a career journalist. I spent 12+ years at CNN as a writer and producer. My sports: NHL, MLB, NFL. My goal: unique content. And my teams are the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bills (yes, I’m a masochist), and the Los Angeles Dodgers. I have been a Dodgers fan since I was old enough to think. I have gone through decades of despair with all three franchises. You can follow Bradley at X @p09691.
Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.