REVEALED: Shohei Ohtani was nearly approached by his translator’s illegal bookmaker while walking his dog in Newport Beach as it emerges Ippei Mizuhara stole $16MILLION from MLB star to cover huge gambling debts

Shohei Ohtani was almost approached by his former translator’s illegal bookmaker while walking his dog in Newport Beach, California, to ask the Los Angeles Dodgers star for money.

Ohtani’s former Japanese translator, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired last month after his illegal gambling habits were exposed. It was also revealed in the evidence file that Mizuhara stole $16 million from Ohtani to cover his gambling losses.

The near-confrontation is said to have taken place in November 2023, before Ohtani switched California baseball teams and played for the Los Angeles Angels.

The name of the suspected illegal bookmaker is Matthew Bowyer and the evidence presented against him and Mizuhara has completely cleared Ohtani of any wrongdoing.

Ohtani’s dog is a Kooikerhondje, which has ties to Jack Russell terriers and Beagles, called Dekopin, which translates to tapping someone’s forehead in Japanese.

Ohtani poses for a photo with his dog after winning the American League MVP Award

Ippei Mizuhara, 39, made a series of unauthorized transfers from Ohtani’s checking account between November 2021 and January, the Justice Department said.

Ohtani is one of the biggest stars in baseball, joining the Dodgers last December in a record $700 million contract.

Combined bets of more than $180 million came from Mizuhara, with Ohtani’s former interpreter losing about $41 million, according to prosecutors.

Mizuhara made 19,000 bets ranging in value from $10 to $160,000, with an average of about $12,800 per bet.

In 2018, Mizuhara accompanied Ohtani, who did not speak English at the time, to a bank in Arizona to open an account.

What was uncovered by federal investigators shows abuse of power by Mizuhara beyond his duties as an interpreter.

It depicts Mizuhara as Ohtani’s manager and handler.

“Ohtani’s salary for playing professional baseball was deposited into this account and he never gave Mizuhara control over this or any of his other financial accounts,” according to an affidavit in the case.

“Mizuhara allegedly told Ohtani’s U.S.-based financial professionals, none of whom spoke Japanese, that Ohtani had denied them access to the account,” the department added.

The former translator for Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has been charged with bank fraud

Mizuhara is accused of stealing more than $16 million from the Japanese baseball star

Ohtani’s release was considered murky before Wednesday because of the sums of money Mizuhara is said to have wagered. Prosecutors have stated several times that one of baseball’s best players was merely a victim in the situation.

The amounts Mizuhara spent on gambling were also revealed, which were much higher than previously believed.

There was no evidence that Mizuhara gambled on baseball, despite the large amount of money spent on gambling.

If convicted on bank fraud charges, Mizuhara could face up to 30 years in prison.