2024/4/12 05:03 (updated at 4/12 08:25)
U.S. federal prosecutors indicted Mizuhara Ippei (right), the former translator of baseball star Shohei Ohtani (left), on the 11th. (Kyodo News)
(Central News Agency reporter Lin Honghan, Los Angeles, 11th) U.S. federal prosecutors today charged Mizuhara Ippei, the former translator of baseball star Shohei Ohtani, with fraud, accusing Mizuhara of stealing more than US$16 million (approximately NT$520 million) from Ohtani’s account to repay gambling debts. , Otani is regarded as the victim in this case.
Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, held a press conference in downtown Los Angeles today, explaining that during the investigation, prosecutors obtained evidence that Suwon pretended to be Daegu to call the bank, and reviewed Daegu’s identity. Thousands of call records with Suwon.
The prosecutor announced the contents of the indictment today, Suwon Ippei
Suwon Ilpyeong profile
- Birthday: December 31, 1984
- Place of birth: Hokkaido, Japan
- Education: Diamond Bar High School, California, USA
- Experience: MLB New York Yankees (Hideki Okajima) translator, Hokkaido Ham Fighters Yankees translator, Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers (Otani Shohei) translator
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closure
Facing one count of bank fraud. Prosecutors alleged that “all of Suwon’s actions were to satisfy his endless desire for illegal sports betting.”
Prosecutor Estrada said at the press conference that Suwon and Dagu knew each other as early as 2013. When Dagu first arrived in the United States in 2018, he could not speak or understand English. Suwon knew English and was familiar with the United States. Suwon The role is similar to that of Otani’s unofficial agent.
The prosecutor explained the case and said that soon after Dagu arrived in the United States in 2018, Suwon helped Dagu open a bank account and regarded it as Dagu’s salary account. Suwon had access to the account and refused to turn it over to Daegu’s broker and financial advisor.
Prosecutors pointed out that Suwon claimed to Daegu’s agent and financial adviser that Daegu would use the account as a personal account.
Prosecutors said Suwon began betting on sports events in 2021. The amount of bets became larger and larger, and the gambling debts also increased. The exchange of messages between Suwon and the group leader showed that even though Suwon lost a large amount of money, he continued to bet on the group leader.
The prosecutor also said that Suwon’s bet did not include a baseball. Prosecutors said that when Suwon owed a large gambling debt, he began to use Dagu’s account to pay off the money. Suwon assisted Dagu in opening this account, so he is familiar with how to use it.
Prosecutors said evidence collected over the past few weeks showed Suwon stole $16 million from Ohtani’s account to pay off debts from illegal gambling. Prosecutors pointed out that phone calls and bank records showed that Suwon had a way to use Dagu’s account online.
The phone recordings obtained by the prosecutors showed that during the call between Suwon and the banker, Suwon gave Daegu’s personal information and lied to the bank that he was Daegu, so as to get the bank to approve a large remittance. The prosecutor stressed: “Ohtani is considered a victim in this case.”
Prosecutors stressed that there was no evidence that Ohtani authorized the transfer of more than $16 million to the group leader. Ohtani has publicly stated that he never authorized the remittance and never agreed to Suwon’s use of his account.
The prosecutor further pointed out that investigators, with the participation of Japanese language experts, reviewed thousands of telephone communication records between Otani and Suwon in the past few years, and found no evidence of placing bets or authorizing remittances to the group leader.
Prosecutors pointed out that when Suwon won money from gambling, the money was transferred to Suwon’s personal account, not Daegu’s account.
Text messages between Suwon and the group leader obtained by the prosecutor showed that Suwon confessed to the group leader that the money was stolen from Dagu. Prosecutors concluded that Suwon abused Daegu’s trust in him by embezzling $16 million from Daegu’s account to pay off gambling debts he owed.
Shohei Otani started his American professional baseball career in 2018, and Ippei Mizuhara served as his translator and assistant for 6 years. At the end of March this year, after the media revealed that Suwon was involved in an illegal signing and gambling case and was suspected of embezzling millions of dollars from Ohtani, Suwon was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Editor: Yang Zhaoyan) 1130412
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