It was recently revealed that Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter was stealing from the baseball superstar and we now know to avoid being found out he would run the money through casinos in both Las Vegas and California.
Ippei Mizuhara stole over $16Million from his former employer in order to pay off a hefty illegal gambling debt, but when he was found out Mizuhara was sacked instantly.
The Los Angeles Dodgers player is the highest paid baseball star in the world, with Ohtani set to make $67m from his debut season for Los Angeles this year.
Mizuhara reportedly made a number of large payments from Ohtani’s accounts to California and Las Vegas casinos, including several $500,000 deposits.
The interpreter would then deposit the cash into his account at the casino, swapping Ohtani’s money for chips on the floor. Mizuhara would later change the chips back to cash in order to pay his illegal bookie back.
Ohtani’s former employee has now admitted to his gambling addiction and a federal probe will explore his accounts to see just how much he actually stole.
The casinos reportedly used by Mizuhara were Resorts World and Pechanga Resort Casino in Southern California. He was most unsuccessful at Resorts World, where the 39-year-old lost a total of $7.9m between 2022 and 2023.
Mizuhara has been released on bail after turning himself in to law enforcements midway through April. The former interpreter is now facing a potential jail sentence of 30 years if he is convicted of bank fraud.
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