Feds -- Mizuhara wasn't gambling addict before Ohtani thefts - ESPN

Federal prosecutors disputed claims by Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter that he stole from the slugger to pay back massive gambling debts, saying there was no evidence he suffered from a gambling addiction before he started draining the Los Angeles Dodgers star's bank account, according to court documents filed Thursday.

Ippei Mizuhara is due to be sentenced Feb. 6 after his June guilty plea. Last week, he asked U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb for an 18-month sentence, instead of the nearly five years prosecutors seek. Mizuhara said he was remorseful and blamed the crime on what he called a «long-standing» addition to gambling in which he «frequented casinos four to five times a week.»

But in their new response, prosecutors doubled down on their sentencing recommendation and said their research showed there is no evidence of a long-standing addiction other than Mizuhara's «self-serving and uncorroborated statements to the psychologist he hired for the purposes of sentencing.»

«All defendants claim to be remorseful at the time of sentencing,» prosecutors wrote. «The question courts must answer is whether the defendant is truly remorseful or whether they are just sorry they were caught.»

Mizuhara's attorney, Michael Freedman, declined to comment Thursday.

Prosecutors said the government's investigation found «only minimal evidence» of Mizuhara's past legal gambling, stating that investigators had looked at more than 30 casinos across the country and that «the only evidence found was defendant spending $200 at the Mirage casino during a weekend in 2008.»

Prosecutors attached a document containing a color photocopy of Mizuhara's California driver's license, along with spreadsheet images showing bets he placed at the