Mizuhara, who served as Ohtani’s area interpreter and manager for the past seven years, was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in late March after allegations regarding illegal sports gambling debts became known.
Mizuhara was so close to him that he was called the “Otani shadow.” He has always been with him not only in training but also in his private life, and he has spent more than six years together. When Ohtani was playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters, he first met as a foreign player interpreter and moved to the U.S. together when he was offered a position as a dedicated interpreter when he moved to the Major League.
Ohtani has been with Mizuhara for the past six years when he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels, and when he moved to the Dodgers, Mizuhara also moved the team together.
However, it was revealed that Mizuhara was deeply involved in illegal sports gambling, and that she not only owed millions of dollars but also touched Ohtani’s account to pay off her gambling debt. The U.S. Department of Justice said on the 9th (Korea time) that Mizuhara agreed to plead guilty in court to charges that she illegally transferred about $17 million (about 23.2 billion won) from Ohtani’s bank account.
According to federal prosecutors in California, Mizuhara used Ohtani’s password to access Ohtani’s account from November 2021 to March this year, then changed his email address and phone number registered with the bank to have him call her when the bank approves the transfer of the account.
Mizuhara used Ohtani’s personal information to impersonate Ohtani 24 times in calls with bank employees, stealing $16,975,10 from Ohtani’s account.
Not only that, but also other crimes are being revealed one after another. Mizuhara made false tax returns and failed to report income worth 4.1 million U.S. dollars.
In September 2023, he spent $60,000 (about 82 million won) on dental treatment, which turned out to have been paid with a debit card under Ohtani’s name.
He also reportedly purchased baseball cards worth about $325,000 (about 460 million won) through Ohtani’s account and had the purpose of reselling them in the future.
Mizuhara, who was always accompanied by Ohtani and was popular in his native Japan due to his friendly image, turned the tables. Japanese media are seriously reporting on Mizuhara’s two faces and crimes of fraud.먹튀검증