Who is Shohei Ohtani's interpreter? Dodgers fire Ippei Mizuhara amid gambling allegations

Los Angeles Dodgers' star Shohei Ohtani's friend and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has been fired by the organization amid allegations involving theft and illegal gambling.

Suspicions surrounding Mizuhara arose when at least $4.5 million in wire transfers was sent from Ohtani's bank account to a Southern California bookmaking operation run by Matthew Bowyer. The operation is currently under federal investigation. The wire transfers were originally thought to be a gift from Ohtani to Mizuhara in order to cover his gambling debt. Amid the allegations, Mizuhara offered his own account of the events leading up to the transfer, but his statements were later disavowed by a spokesman for Ohtani.

On Wednesday, Ohtani's lawyers released a statement, reading "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."

ESPN states that Mizuhara has refused to comment on the situation. He added that he was told he could not comment on the situation but did not say by whom.

This news comes just one day after Shohei Ohtani made his regular season debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the Seoul series to open the 2024 MLB regular season. Ohtani singled twice in the Dodgers' 5-2 win over their division rivals, the San Diego Padres.

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More on Mizuhara:Dodgers fire Shohei Ohtani's interpreter after allegations of million-dollar theft

Who is Shohei Ohtani's interpreter?

Ohtani's interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, is a lifelong friend and training partner of the two-time MVP. He has been at Ohtani's side since Ohtani's MLB career began in 2018. When Ohtani signed his record-shattering $700 million deal with the Dodgers this offseason, Mizuhara was almost instantly hired by the team as well so both men could take the trip up the 5 freeway from Angel Stadium to Dodger Stadium.

Throughout his employ under Ohtani, Mizuhara has helped interpret numerous press conferences and even mound visits. Per USA Today's Gabe Lacques, Mizuhara's involvement with the gambling company came after a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed Shohei Ohtani's name tied to illegal bookmaking.

What did Shohei Ohtani's interpreter do?

Mizuahara is accused of stealing potentially millions of dollars from his lifelong friend in order to cover a gambling debt.

Although Mizuhara claimed during an interview on Tuesday that he had asked Ohtani to cover his $4.5 million debt, he changed his story on Wednesday, informing ESPN that Ohtani had no knowledge of his debts and that Ohtani had never transferred money to the bookmaker's associate. While Ohtani's name was listed on the transfers, Bowyer never questioned it and even told others that Ohtani was a client in order to boost business.

Mizuhara claims that he did not know the bets that he was placing were illegal, despite sports gambling being illegal in California. Since the bookmaker was running an illegal operation, Mizuhara was allowed to make bets on credit, hence why his debt racked up so high. All government-regulated sportsbooks require bettors to pay up front in order to make wagers.

Did Mizuhara ever gamble on baseball?

According to reports, Mizuhara started gambling back in 2021 and would places wagers on international soccer matches and other sporting events including the NBA, NFL, and college football, but never baseball.

What charges is Shohei Ohtani's interpreter facing?

Charges against Mizuhara have not been laid out as of yet. The same cannot be said for Bowyer, who could be facing multiple felony charges. Bowyer, 48, had his home raided in October 2023, where police confiscated numerous items including cash, casino chips, luxury watches, luxury handbags, banking documents, a money counting machine, computers, portable storage devices, as well as multiple cellphones.

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