Shohei Ohtani's ex-interpreter facing 30 years in jail after allegedly stealing over $16 million from MLB star

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Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, has been charged with bank fraud for allegedly stealing more than $16 million from the MLB star to pay an illegal bookie.

Ohtani claimed from the get-go he had no knowledge of Mizuhara's alleged gambling addiction or that his money was being stolen, and the Department of Justice has confirmed that.

The DOJ says it has determined there was no evidence to suggest Ohtani was aware of, or involved in, Mizuhara’s illegal gambling activity or payment of those debts.

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Shohei Ohtani, right, of the Los Angeles Dodgers prepares for a game against the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch Feb. 27, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz.  (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The DOJ says Mizuhara "wired more than $16 million in unauthorized transfers from a checking account [belonging] to" Ohtani, but the devices and IP addresses in which the transfers came from were "associated" with Mizuhara.

Mizuhara lost "substantial sums of money" for several months beginning in September 2021, which led him to link the account to his phone number and another email address, according to the DOJ. 

Throughout that time, Mizuhara allegedly acted as Ohtani in phone calls with the bank to initiate the transfers. Ohtani denied authorizing the wire transfers in an interview with authorities last week.

From January to March of this year, Mizuhara also used the account to purchase "approximately 1,000 baseball cards — at a cost of approximately $325,000 — and had them mailed to Mizuhara under an alias, ‘Jay Min,’ and mailed to" the Los Angeles Dodgers' clubhouse.

Amid differing