The illegal gambling and illegal money transfer scandal of Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for American major league star Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers), alarmed baseball fans not only in the United States but also around the world. There were various reports surrounding this incident, and this scandal was so full of mystery that there was even speculation that “Ohtani was also an accomplice.”
Although Ohtani’s innocence was all but proven as a result of the investigation by US federal prosecutors, baseball fans and the media continued to respond by saying, “I can’t believe it,” and “There are some things I don’t understand about until. how did this happen.”
Otani and former interpreter Mizuhara (left)/AFP Yonhap News
The New York Times (NYT) recently revealed a behind-the-scenes story that reveals the full story of the scandal, including the results of the investigation by US federal prosecutors who investigated the scandal. Mizuhara, who was Otani’s interpreter, was not only an interpreter, but he was also Otani’s life manager and a ‘powerful figure’ who ‘knew nothing but baseball’. He was addicted to gambling and stole Ohtani’s money to gamble illegally Even when all his lies were exposed, he stuck with Ohtani until the end, saying, “Join the lies I told.” Until the end, they tried to calm Otani and avoid guilt.
The start of this scandal was an investigation into an illegal sports gambling operator. While US law enforcement authorities were investigating an illegal gambling operator (Matthew Boyer), it was confirmed that hundreds of thousands of dollars were deposited from Otani’s account into his account. Local US media began reporting on this dubious transfer detail.
On the 19th of last month, a day before Game 1 of the Major League Baseball Series (LA Dodgers vs San Diego Padres), ESPN asked Ohtani’s agent in Seoul, “Explain why there was a transfer from Ohtani’s account to an illegal gambler’s account .” A request has arrived.
In order to find out the truth, Otani’s agents asked Mizuhara, “Ask Otani why he has these transfer details,” and this is when Mizuhara’s lies began. In order to hide the fact that he had secretly taken money from Ohtani’s account, he did not tell Ohtani, but instead made up a story and told his agent and the spokesperson in charge of communications, “Actually, Ohtani paid my gambling. owe me.”
Even during a direct phone interview with ESPN that day, Mizuhara continued to lie to cover up his mistakes, such as “Ohtani knew about my situation and paid the debt for me” and “Ohtani and I split up” r the money from Ohtani’s account and transfer it.” he went
The lie spread quickly. Mizuhara’s lie that “Ohtani paid off the interpreter’s gambling debt” was shared not only with Ohtani’s agent, but also with Dodgers team officials and even the MLB office. The Dodgers team leadership, thinking there would be a big uproar, held a club meeting around 10 pm on the 20th of last month, after Game 1 of the Seoul Series, and gathered all the Dodgers players. Dodgers leadership begins by telling the players, “I think bad news will come out soon,” and then gives Mizuhara a chance to explain himself.
Even here, Mizuhara continued his deceitful words and actions that were half truth and half lies. He apologized for the controversy that would soon arise because of it, saying, “I got addicted to gambling and I had a huge debt, but Otani paid for me.” Otani, who was naive and not good at English, suddenly saw Mizuhara giving a speech in front of the players and thought ‘something was strange’.
On the 15th of last month, Otani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka arrived at Incheon International Airport to participate in the MLB World Tour Seoul Series./News 1
The moment of truth has arrived. Otani, sensing something strange, began to ask Mizuhara and the agents, ‘What on earth is happening?’ Mizuhara replied, ‘I’ll tell you everything at the hotel.’
Around midnight on the 20th and 21st, Otani and Mizuhara sat together alone in a conference room in the basement of the hotel where the Dodgers players were staying. According to the New York Times, Mizuhara confessed everything about his gambling activities, secretly taking money from Otani’s account, and even lying to the press, agent, and club officials to cover it up.
Meanwhile, Mizuhara was clinging to Otani. To Otani, ‘Would it be right for you to follow my lie? ‘Pay back what you paid me,’ he asked. He fell into gambling addiction and completely cheated Otani, who trusted him as much as his family, and stuck with Otani again.
If he had been persuaded by the government and accepted this request, Otani could have become an accessory to breaking US federal law, including on charges of sending money to an illegal gambling operator. However, Otani refused and immediately called his agent, Nezu Valero, into the conference room.
Valero, who until then had always trusted Mizuhara’s word when communicating with Otani, entered the conference room accompanied by another Japanese translator, the Dodgers’ team crisis management officer, and a communications spokesman. Mizuhara’s wife from Japan was also present. Valero also had its attorney and financial representative in Los Angeles present online.
The meeting that should have been held a long time ago, where all the parties involved were gathered in one place, was finally held, and the ‘truth’ was shared that Mizuhara had thoroughly deceived Ohtani, his agent, and Dodgers officials. The Dodgers immediately fired Mizuhara, and Ohtani’s communications spokesman called ESPN, who had a phone interview with Mizuhara, on the 19th and said, “Mizuhara lied about everything. “Don’t report it,” he said.
Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara accompanied the Otani LA Dodgers press conference held at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul last month./Chosun Sports Reporter Jae-geun Jeong
Afterwards, the truth of the incident was fully revealed through Ohtani’s press conference and the investigation by US federal prosecutors. But one question still remains. “Even if Mizuhara took money out of Otani’s account without Otani’s knowledge, wouldn’t Otani have noticed something strange the moment he looked into his account?”
NYT gives a clue to understand this. “After Otani opened a bank account in Arizona with Mizuhara’s help in February 2018, Otani has not logged into his account even once for about three years.”
It was around 2021 that Mizuhara became involved in illegal gambling and began dabbling with Otani’s account. In other words, before Mizuhara started logging into the account without Otani’s knowledge and withdrawing money, Otani had never checked or opened his account. It is very likely that she was like that even before finding out about Mizuhara’s lies last month.
Otani, who earned a huge annual salary but was very short on money, was truly a ‘naive fool who only knew about baseball,’ and Mizuhara knew this trait of Otani and abused it in desperate The NYT reported, “In the indictment filed by the US Attorney’s Office, which investigated Mizuhara, Ohtani is referred to as ‘Victim A’ rather than Ohtani. ” US federal prosecutors believe that Ohtani is an innocent but clear victim in this scandal.
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