Shohei Ohtani is the biggest superstar in baseball right now. But he’s also at the center of a shady scandal that threatens to rock MLB to its core. An ESPN and L.A. Times investigation uncovered links between Ohtani’s translater Ippei Mizuhara and an illegal gambling syndicate.
Allegedly, Mizuhara used $4.5 million of Ohtani’s money to pay gambling debts. Now the FBI and MLB are investigating to find the truth. Is Ohtani an innocent bystander in this sketchy tale or did he order Mizuhara to place bets on his behalf? This is a wild story that’s still developing. Let’s look at the information currently available in detail now.
Gambling Debts
This shady story starts with an ESPN and L.A. Times investigation into an illegal bookmaking operation. Ohtani’s name came up but then his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara took the fall. He told ESPN Investigative Journalist Tisha Thompson that Ohtani didn’t place any bets and knew nothing.
Thompson revealed (via Michigan Public): “He basically said that it was his gambling debt and that when he got too far in a hole — we have multiple sources telling us it’s at least $4.5 million — he went to Ohtani, who told him he wasn’t happy about the gambling debts, but he had decided to pay it off.”