Representatives for Shohei Ohtani have asked law enforcement to probe the alleged “massive theft” of the superstar’s money, ESPN’s Tisha Thompson reported Thursday.
The law enforcement agency that Ohtani’s reps reached out to was not specified in the report.
Earlier this week, the Dodgers fired Ohtani’s longtime interpreter and close friend, Ippei Mizuhara, after it was alleged Ohtani wired $4.5 million to alleged illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debts.
Shohei Ohtani (right) and his ex-interpreter Ippei Mizuhara attend a press conference before the Dodgers’ MLB Seoul Series baseball game against the Padres. AFP via Getty Images On Wednesday, the IRS confirmed that Bowyer and Mizhuara are now being criminally investigated, according to the Associated Press.
The story has been murky, as Ohtani’s camp changed its story in the process of reporting from ESPN and the Los Angeles Times.
At first, both a spokesperson for Ohtani and Mizuhara told ESPN that Ohtani had wired the money to Bowyer on Mizuhara’s behalf.
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Then, the spokesperson “disavowed” Mizuhara’s account, and Mizuhara told the outlet Ohtani had been unaware of the funds being transferred.
The Los Angeles Times first reported that Mizuhara had been accused of theft on Wednesday, and the first ESPN report on the matter, which included the about-face from Ohtani’s camp, was published shortly thereafter.
ESPN later reported that the mixup in how the original story was communicated was based on Ohtani’s camp relying on the translator’s account of events.
According to the report, Ohtani became aware of the theft during a team meeting in Seoul, South Korea, where the Dodgers opened the season with a two-game series against the Padres, where Mizuhara admitted he had a problematic gambling addiction.
Shohei Ohtani’s ex- interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stands in the dugout during a spring training game against the Padres. AP Mizuhara said his bets were on soccer, basketball and football — but never baseball.
“I never bet on baseball,” Mizuhara told ESPN. “That’s 100%. I knew that rule. … We have a meeting about that in spring training.”
On behalf of Ohtani, the West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler said in a statement to The Post that, “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,” The specific perpetrator was not named in the statement.
The Dodgers made Will Ireton Ohtani’s new interpreter.
Ireton previously worked with Kenta Maeda from 2016-19, and remained with the Dodgers after the Japanese pitcher was sent to the Twins in a trade.
Ohtani signed a 10-year contract with the Dodgers this past offseason worth $700 million.
In an unprecedented action, Ohtani agreed for $680 million of the contract to be deferred until after the end of the deal.
