Major League Baseball issued its final ruling on Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani on the same day that his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty in court.
Mizuhara, who admitted that he stole nearly $17 million from Shohei Ohtani to feed his illegal gambling habit and then did not report his gambling income and losses to the IRS, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return.
Shohei Ohtani claimed that he had no knowledge of Ippei Mizuhara, 39, stealing the millions of dollars from his bank account.
Mizuhara reportedly changed the settings to Ohtani’s account once he had access to it so that Shohei would not be notified about any of his illegal transactions.
“I worked for victim A and had access to his bank account and had fallen into major gambling debt. I went ahead and wired money … with his bank account,” Mizuhara told court on Tuesday.
Mizuhara, who accepted a plea deal in May, now faces up to 33 years in federal prison, five years of supervised release, a $1,250,000 fine, and a $200 mandatory special assessment, according to Front Office Sports.
His sentencing is set for October 25 at 2 p.m. PT.
As for Shohei Ohtani being punished, Major League Baseball stuck by the ruling of U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada, who stated back in April, “Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case.”
“Based on the thoroughness of the federal investigation that was made public, the information MLB collected, and the criminal proceeding being resolved without being contested, MLB considers Shohei Ohtani a victim of fraud and this matter has been closed,” Major League Baseball
Earlier in the day on Tuesday, San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was ruled permanently ineligible by Major League Baseball for violating the league’s gambling policy.
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