Judge in sports betting case orders ex-interpreter for Ohtani to get gambling addiction treatment

2024-12-24 02:53:58 source: category:Stocks

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered the former longtime interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani released on $25,000 bond and mandated he undergo gambling addiction treatment.

Ippei Mizuhara exploited his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to plunder $16 million from the two-way player’s bank account for years, prosecutors said, at times impersonating Ohtani to bankers so he could cover his bets and debts.

Mizuhara only spoke to answer the judge’s questions, saying “yes” when she asked if he understood several parts of the case and his bond conditions.

Mizuhara, wearing a dark suit and a white collared shirt, entered the courtroom with his ankles shackled, but was not handcuffed. The judge approved his attorney’s request to remove the shackles.

Other bond conditions stipulate that Mizuhara cannot gamble, either electronically or in-person, or go inside any gambling establishments, or associate with any known bookmakers.

Mizuhara turned himself in Friday ahead of his initial court appearance. He is charged with one count of bank fraud and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

READ MORE Drugs will be illegal again in Oregon after governor signs bill recriminalizing possession For years she thought her son had died of an overdose. The police video changed all that Drug overdoses reach another record with almost 108,000 Americans in 2022, CDC says

Prosecutors said there was no evidence that Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara’s gambling, and authorities said Ohtani is cooperating with investigators.

Mizuhara was not asked to enter a plea during Friday’s brief court appearance in downtown Los Angeles. A criminal complaint, filed Thursday, detailed the alleged scheme through evidence that included text messages, financial records and recordings of phone calls.

While Mizuhara’s winning bets totaled over $142 million, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani’s, his losing bets were around $183 million — a net loss of nearly $41 million.

In a message to his illegal bookmaker on March 20, the day the Los Angeles Times and ESPN broke the news of the federal investigation, Mizuhara wrote: “Technically I did steal from him. it’s all over for me.”

Major League Baseball opened its own investigation after the controversy surfaced, and the Dodgers immediately fired Mizuhara.

More:Stocks

Recommend

The View's Sara Haines Walks Off After Whoopi Goldberg's NSFW Confession

Whoopi Goldberg isn’t afraid to get a little risqué.During a segment on the Nov. 13 episode of The V

Target transforms stores into 'Fantastical Forest' to kick off holiday shopping season

Target wants shoppers dreaming of a white – and red – Christmas.To that end, the retailer is transfo

EPA Gives Chicago Decades to Replace Lead Pipes, Leaving Communities at Risk

On Oct. 8, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released their new Lead and Copper Rule Improvem