Ippei Mizuhara, the previous interpreter to Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, pleaded innocent to bank and tax scams charges on Tuesday early morning, a procedural action preceding a plea offer. He is still anticipated to plead guilty at a later date.

Mizuhara took almost $17 million from Ohtani to settle his own sports betting bets to a supposed unlawful bookie, Matthew Bowyer. According to a federal grievance, Mizuhara made around 19,000 wagers in between Dec. 2021 and Jan. 2024, varying from $10 to $160,000 per bet. The cash was sent out to the bookie by wire transfers — apparently gotten by a truth television star.

Mizuhara began working for Ohtani when he pertained to Major League Baseball in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels as his de facto supervisor and interpreter. However, the set has actually understood each other considering that 2013, as Mizuhara worked for the Nippon-Ham Fighters while Ohtani played expertly in Japan.

The Dodgers fired Mizuhara on March 21 following reports of a minimum of a $4.5 million transfer from Ohtani’s savings account to the bookie. Mizuhara dealt with a bank scams charge on April 11 after federal authorities launched a 37-page grievance exposing how Mizuhara got to Ohtani’s accounts. 

Investigations have actually discovered no proof that Ohtani was included with or familiar with Mizuhara’s gaming.

Initially, a pretrial hearing date was set up for June 14 a trial date set for July 3. However, no trial is anticipated.

Instead, the last sentencing choice in the hands of Judge John Holcomb. The bank scams charge holds an optimum charge of thirty years in federal jail. The incorrect income tax return charge brings an optimal sentence of 3 years. As part of his plea arrangement, Mizuhara is most likely to deal with deportation to his native nation of Japan. Additionally, he will need to pay restitution of almost $17 million to Ohtani, in addition to $1 million to the internal revenue service.

Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-U.S.A. TODAY Sports

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