The former interpreter of the baseball star Ohtani to appear in court for conviction in the betting case

LOS Angeles (AP) – The former interpreter of the Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani is expected to be sentenced Thursday for banking and tax fraud after flying nearly $ 17 million on the bank account of the Los Angeles Dodgers player.

Federal prosecutors are looking for a four-year prison sentence for Ipei Mizuhara, who was supposed to fill the gap between Ohtani and his English-speaking teammates and fans while the duo traveled from southern California to parks through the states- Unis, Mizuhara operated in Mizuhara in the place, Mizuhara operated the Japanese-English-speaking language in the South Mizuhara to the insulation of Ohtani and benefits from its proximity to the power of the bidirectional player.

Mizuhara should appear before the Federal Court of the City of Orange County, Santa Ana. He pleaded guilty last year for bank and tax fraud after being accused of having stolen money to cover his betting bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker, in addition to $ 325,000 in baseball cards and of its own dental invoices.

The case undoubtedly affected the most famous baseball player in the world – who previously launched for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – and has delighted an international media frenzy. It comes from a wider survey on illegal sports bookmaking organizations in southern California and the laundering of products through casinos in Las Vegas who have reported a dozen defendants.

“His fundraising of several years of Mr. Ohtani and the myriad of lies he told the agents and financial advisers of Mr. Ohtani to cover his flight representing a calculated betrayal of the very person that he was hired To help, “the prosecutors wrote before the Papier Tribunal.

They want Mizuhara to pay $ 17 million in restitution in Ohtani and $ 1 million at the Internal Revenue Service.

In a letter in the court, Mizuhara described his financial tension and his dependence on the game, which he hoped to alleviate his money problems. He also professed his admiration for Ohtani and his remorse.

“I ask for a little mercy in the court concerning my pain that you are giving yourself,” wrote Mizuhara. “I really admire Shohei as a baseball player and a human being and I undertook to devote my life so that Shohei could be the best version of himself on the field. I mean I’m really sorry to have violated his self -confidence.

Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s account from 2021 and changed his security protocols so that he can identify him to authorize wired transfers. By 2024, Mizuhara had used the money to buy around $ 325,000 in baseball cards from online resellers and had bet tens of millions of dollars who were not to bet on international football, the NBA, NFL and university football.

Prosecutors said Mizuhara never bet on baseball and that Ohtani was an unconscious victim of the program.

“That there is undoubtedly, Mr. Ohtani is really a victim and suffered and will continue to suffer, to harm the conduct of the defendant,” the prosecutors wrote.

Michael G. Freedman, Mizuhara’s lawyer, wrote in court documents that his client is a drug addict who made a “terrible error” and suffered from a loss of job and reputation. Mizuhara assumes responsibility for her actions and expects to be expelled to his native Japan after having served an hour, wrote Freedman asking for a sentence of a year and a half.

Mizuhara was born in Japan and moved to California with her parents at the age of 6. He had a hard time learning English, but finally did, and he returned to Japan in 2013 to become an interpreter for a Japanese baseball team and later for Ohtani, according to the Tribunal Tribunal.

The two have formed a united link, and Mizuhara moved with Ohtani in 2018 in the United States, where he did many races for the player such as grocery store, wrote Freedman.

Inside Baseball, Mizuhara stood alongside Ohtani for many strengths of the athlete’s career, the receiver servant during the Home Run derby in the 2021 stars match, her two MVP victories of the American League and its $ 700 record of $ 700 million and 10 years agree with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Outside the field, Mizuhara was the friend and confidant of Ohtani. He resigned from the Angels of Los Angeles during the Lock of the 2021 MLB so that he could continue to speak to Ohtani, and he was concluded after an agreement was concluded.

Last year, Ohtani and the Dodgers won the World Series, and the baseball star won her third most precious player prize.