Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani who was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers last month, is negotiating a plea deal with federal officials in the United States over allegations of theft made by the two-way superstar, according to The New York Times.
Times reporters Tim Arango and Michael S. Schmidt, citing three unnamed sources, write that the plea will likely “include an admission of a range of facts related to any illegal conduct.”
Ohtani has publically accused Mizuhara of theft related to gambling debts.
“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies,” Ohtani said, in comments translated by Dodgers manager of performance operations Will Ireton, on March 25. “I never bet on sports or have willfully sent money to the bookmaker.”
Arango and Schmidt report that federal authorities have interviewed Ohtani about the matter. MLB has also opened its own investigation into the situation.
ESPN and The Los Angeles Times first reported on March 20 that the Dodgers had fired Mizuhara, who had been Ohtani’s interpreter and close friend since 2018.
Mizuhara gave an interview with ESPN on March 19 in which he said Ohtani had agreed to help pay off the interpreter’s gambling debts. However, Mizuhara changed his story in a second interview the following day, telling ESPN Ohtani had no knowledge of his debts.
“To summarize how I am feeling right now, I am just beyond shocked,” Ohtani said on March 25. “It is really hard to verbalize how I am feeling at this point. The season is going to start, so I am going to let my lawyers handle matters from here on out. I am completely assisting in all investigations that are taking place right now.”
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