Friends or not, say goodbye to that gravy train $500k/yr job Asian FRAUD

[theking]

...you only have yourself to blame for shooting your own foot by keeping digging that hole deeper and deeper:

Shohei Ohtani's interpreter fired after accusation of 'massive theft' from Dodgers star, per report

Shohei Ohtani's longtime interpreter has been fired after being accused of a theft, said to be in the magnitude of millions of dollars, from the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Ohtani's legal team reportedly claimed that Ippei Mizuhara used the two-way phenom's funds to place bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker, Mathew Bowyer, who is currently under federal investigation.

A Dodgers spokesperson told the Times shortly after the news broke that Mizuhara had been fired.

From the Times:

In a statement, the West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler said, “In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.”

Mizuhara was working as recently as the previous night in South Korea, where he interpreted for Ohtani following the Dodgers' 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres to open the MLB season. To replace Mizuhara, the Dodgers can likely look in-house, as Yoshinobu Yamamoto has used his own Japanese interpreter since signing with the team.

Ohtani's interpreter said Dodgers star paid off $4.5 million in gambling debt, then things got weird
A subsequent ESPN report shed more light on the situation behind the scenes but also invited even more questions.

Ohtani's camp reportedly presented Mizuhara for an interview Tuesday night in Korea, where he claimed the slugger agreed to pay off at least $4.5 million in gambling debt for him last year. Mizuhara claimed he placed his bets via DraftKings before meeting Bowyer, whom he said he believed to be a legal bookmaker.

From ESPN:

"I'm terrible [at gambling.] Never going to do it again. Never won any money," Mizuhara said. "I mean, I dug myself a hole, and it kept on getting bigger, and it meant I had to bet bigger to get out of it and just kept on losing. It's like a snowball effect."

Supposedly, Ohtani was unhappy upon learning about the debt but agreed to make the payments to Bowyer's associate himself, rather than giving the money Mizuhara. The payment was supposed to be a loan to Mizuhara, who reportedly made between $300,000 and $500,000 annually working for Ohtani, with the wire's description filled out as "loan."

However, upon being asked about this account, Ohtani's camp reportedly disavowed Mizuhara, who told ESPN the next day that Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debt and did not make the transfer. At issue appeared to be the claim that Ohtani was directly involved in the payments, which led to the involvement of his legal team:

When an ESPN reporter asked Ohtani's camp about the allegation from Mizuhara that Ohtani was present and helped move the funds and that he was going to be paid back, the spokesman contacted Ohtani's attorneys, who then issued the statement saying he was the victim of a "massive theft."

ESPN reports that Bowyer dealt directly with Mizuhara, who allegedly placed bets on soccer matches and other sports — but never baseball — starting in 2021. Bowyer's attorney said he never spoke with or met Ohtani. MLB players are allowed to bet on other sports but not with illegal bookmakers.

"I never bet on baseball," Mizuhara said. "That's 100 percent. I knew that rule. ... We have a meeting about that in spring training."

Mizuhara reportedly addressed the Dodgers clubhouse Wednesday in Korea, telling the team that a story was coming out and that it was all his fault, saying he has a gambling addiction.

Ippei Mizuhara is more than an interpreter for Shohei Ohtani
This development is a shocker for anyone who has closely followed Ohtani. Mizuhara's tenure as Ohtani's interpreter goes back to his rookie year with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, and his tenure as his friend goes back even longer. The two first met when Ohtani joined the Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2013 while Mizuhara was working as an interpreter for an English-speaking player.

Mizuhara followed Ohtani to the United States, becoming his personal interpreter and a fixture at Ohtani's side as he became the most famous baseball player on earth. He even served as Ohtani's catcher in the 2021 Home Run Derby. Mizuhara was Ohtani's voice in every public appearance and his closest friend since arriving stateside.

Ohtani brought Mizuhara with him when he signed a record-shattering, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in the offseason, the largest known contract by total value in sports history. Ohtani is also by far the richest player in MLB when it comes to endorsements, as Sportico estimates that he makes $65 million per year. That figure is larger than that of the rest of the top 15 players combined, with Bryce Harper second at $7 million.

The past few months have been eventful for Ohtani outside of baseball as well. He announced a surprise marriage just last month, with his wife's identity revealed days ago to be retired Japanese basketball player Mamiko Tanaka. He also went viral with his adoption of a dog, named Dekopin.

[theking]

Hmmm...guilty by association..

Is Shohei Ohtani another Pete Rose? Dodgers star may be in legal trouble if he paid gambling debt

Ohtani, however, might have broken the law if he paid Mizuhara's gambling debt, according to I. Nelson Rose, a gambling law scholar and professor emeritus at Whittier College. “If he paid the debt knowing it was for illegal gambling, there is the potential for fairly serious federal penalties,” Rose said.

[theking]

And the plot thickens...

Shohei Ohtani interpreter scandal: Major holes poked in Ippei Mizuhara's pre-Ohtani résumé

The Shohei Ohtani interpreter scandal has somehow become even weirder.

Last we left the Los Angeles Dodgers star, his camp had accused his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, of stealing $4.5 million to cover his illegal gambling debts, though only after telling a reporter that Ohtani had agreed to give Mizuhara the money. Since then, Mizuhara has been fired, and MLB has opened an investigation into the matter.

The situation, naturally, has drawn scrutiny for the 39-year-old Mizuhara, and it appears that the spotlight is burning some holes in his résumé before he met Ohtani — namely, his education and past experience in baseball.

UC Riverside says Ippei Mizuhara never attended the school
Before this week, Mizuhara was widely reported to have been born in Hokkaido, Japan, moved to the U.S. at a young age, attended Diamond Bar High School in Los Angeles County and graduated from the University of California-Riverside in 2007.

It appears that last part, which was stated as fact in the Angels' 2023 media guide, is not true. UC Riverside told The Athletic's Sam Blum that it has no record of Mizuhara attending the school:

“Our university records do not show a student by the name of Ippei Mizuhara having attended UC Riverside.”

UC Riverside reportedly didn't respond when asked if Mizuhara could have attended the school under a different name, but he definitely went by the name in high school, as his high school soccer coach described him as a hard worker to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune last week.

Red Sox say Ippei Mizuhara never worked for the team
The lore of Ohtani and Mizuhara's friendship is based around them both joining the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2013, Ohtani as a rookie first overall pick and Mizuhara as an interpreter for the team's English-speaking players.

Before that, Mizuhara was said to have worked his first job in baseball as an interpreter for Boston Red Sox pitcher Hideki Okajima from 2007 to 2011.

The Red Sox released a statement Friday saying that Mizuhara had never worked for them in any way:

"We are reaching out to all of you because of reports in various outlets stating that Ippei Mizuhara worked for the Red Sox as an interpreter, which is incorrect. Mizuhara was never employed by the Boston Red Sox in any capacity and was not an interpreter for Hideki Okajima during the pitcher's time with the team. Please know we have thoroughly checked our files to ensure we are providing accurate information."

Mizuhara apparently wasn't that good of an interpreter either, if you believe Jon Heyman of the New York Post. That makes a lot more sense now.

Ippei Mizuhara couldn't have worked for the Yankees either
After the Red Sox, the Angels media guide stated that Mizuhara continued to interpret for Okajima with the New York Yankees in spring training 2012.

As The Athletic notes, there's one problem with that: Okajima reportedly failed a physical with the Yankees on Feb. 17, 2012, before the beginning of spring training. It's possible that Mizuhara could have interpreted for Okajima in the time between when he signed the minor-league deal and the start of camp, but that seems unlikely.

Ippei Mizuhara had a dream job interpreting for Shohei Ohtani. It has all come crashing down. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
Ippei Mizuhara had a dream job interpreting for Shohei Ohtani. It has all come crashing down. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
So what does all this mean?

We know Mizuhara graduated high school in 2003 and joined the Fighters in 2013, where he met Ohtani. In the 10 years between, he was widely reported to have attended college in the U.S. and worked for two different MLB teams, but there is now a gaping hole in that background. It makes you wonder what kind of vetting the Fighters did when hiring him.

From there, Mizuhara befriended Ohtani starting when the slugger was 19, went with him to the Angels and followed him to the Dodgers. He wasn't just an interpreter; he was Ohtani's personal assistant and one of his best friends.

There are many ways this saga could play out in the coming months as MLB and other authorities investigate, but so far, it seems that every day of this scandal has made the situation worse for Mizuhara.