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Post by Admin on Mar 29, 2024 1:59:50 GMT
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed the investigation into the illegal sports betting scandal involving Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani, 29.
Mr. Mizuhara had accumulated a large amount of debt due to illegal sports gambling, and it was revealed by the federal investigative agency that 4.5 million dollars was transferred from Otani's bank account to Mr. Mr. Mizuhara and Otani's public relations staff initially explained that ``Otani took over the responsibility,'' but the story changed to ``Mr. Mizuhara stole the money from the bank account.'' Otani himself also said at a press conference that ``Mr. ” he declared.
Considering the development of the story, it is important to show the dignity of baseball to the fans. So we confirm what Mr. Ohtani said. It's simple," he commented. However, since public agencies such as the IRS, which corresponds to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, are conducting investigations, ``It is extremely difficult for MLB to ask for cooperation in a case that is currently being investigated by a federal investigative agency.Therefore, it is necessary to conduct its own investigation.'' "But we will investigate and find out the truth. We hope it will be resolved in a short period of time, but we don't know."
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Post by Admin on Apr 8, 2024 13:45:59 GMT
There is a possibility that the investigation will be completed in a short period of time. Reporter Sanskar Dubey of the US media ``Essential Sports'' mentioned this.
[Photo] Ranking of highest annual salaries of Japanese major leaguers in history
Ever since Mizuhara's gambling and theft allegations came to light, there have been constant rumors about MLB's stance. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred praised Ohtani, saying, ``I thought what Ohtani said at the press conference was truly trustworthy and transparent.''
"However, in order to give our fans absolute assurance about the safety of baseball, we have an obligation to ascertain the truth," Manfred said, adding that it was difficult to specify the exact stage of the investigation. He seems confident that it won't take long.
``As it stands, MLB's investigation may be almost complete,'' Dubey said, adding, ``At least on the field, it appears that Ohtani has moved on from this controversy.''
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Post by Admin on Apr 11, 2024 2:28:38 GMT
Multiple local media outlets, including the US media outlet TMZ, have reported that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has made a final determination that Shohei Otani is the victim of fraud.
The issue is that Mr. Mizuhara, who is said to have had a gambling addiction (according to ESPN), owed gambling debts to a bookmaker in Southern California who is under investigation by the US federal government. It all started when he transferred at least $4.5 million (approximately 680 million yen) from Otani's bank account.
Initially, in an interview with ESPN, Mr. Mizuhara said, ``Shohei was not happy about the fact, but he said he would help me not to gamble from now on.'' He confessed that he took over his role.
However, immediately after Otani's side denied this, he retracted his statement. Otani himself also explained this at a press conference held on March 25th, saying, ``I have never asked anyone to bet on anything or on a sporting event, and I have never asked them to send money.''
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Post by Admin on Apr 11, 2024 16:39:34 GMT
The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is facing federal charges related to his alleged theft of millions from the slugger, a source with direct knowledge of the investigation confirmed to ESPN late Wednesday.
The New York Times was first to report Wednesday that Ippei Mizuhara, 39, is in negotiations to plead guilty and that the investigation is racing toward a conclusion.
The investigation started just three weeks ago when news broke that at least $4.5 million was transmitted from Ohtani's bank account to a California bookmaker under federal investigation.
In the first of a pair of interviews with ESPN, Mizuhara initially said he had amassed huge gambling debts and that Ohtani helped him out by wiring the money in $500,000 increments last year. But hours later, Mizuhara changed the account and said Ohtani had no knowledge of the payments.
Concurrently, attorneys for Ohtani alleged that he had been the victim of a "massive theft."
At a subsequent news conference, Ohtani told the media he never bet on baseball or any other sports and had no knowledge of Mizuhara's alleged actions until a meeting after the Dodgers' season opener in Seoul, South Korea, during which Mizuhara addressed the team and said he had a gambling addiction.
"I'm very sad and shocked that someone who I've trusted has done this," Ohtani said.
A source with direct knowledge of the investigation told ESPN late Wednesday that Ohtani's claims were accurate.
California attorney Michael G. Freedman confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that he represents Mizuhara but declined to comment.
ESPN previously reported that Mizuhara is under investigation by the IRS, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Those agencies are also investigating Mathew Bowyer, the bookmaker Mizuhara said he paid, and are involved in a sprawling money laundering and illegal gambling case in Las Vegas.
The Times reported Wednesday that prosecutors have uncovered evidence that Mizuhara may have stolen more money from Ohtani than the $4.5 million initially reported. Mizuhara changed the settings on Ohtani's bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts or confirmations about transactions, the Times reported.
Mizuhara has not been seen publicly since returning to California from South Korea. The Times reported he was stopped by law enforcement officials after getting off the plane but was not arrested.
Information from ESPN's Tisha Thompson was used in this report.
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Post by Admin on Apr 12, 2024 2:44:47 GMT
Ippei Mizuhara (39), a former interpreter for Dodgers pitcher Shohei Otani (29), was indicted after it was discovered that he fraudulently transferred more than $16 million (approximately 2.4 billion yen) from Otani's account to an illegal bookmaker. It was revealed that Ohtani was interviewed on the day he hit his first home run of the season.
[Photo] Photo of suspect Ippei Mizuhara left on Shohei Otani's Instagram
According to the electronic version of the local newspaper Los Angeles Times on the 11th, Otani handed over his cell phone to the authorities in order to cooperate with the investigation into the Mizuhara suspect. He was interviewed on the 2nd (3rd) and 3rd (4th) of this month. On both nights, games against the Giants were held at Dodger Stadium, the team's home base, and Otani played as the No. 2 DH. Although he had no hits on the 2nd, on the 3rd he hit his first solo of the season in the 4th at-bat of the 7th inning, resulting in 2 hits in 4 at bats and 1 RBI.
Otani commented at a press conference on March 25th that he would ``fully cooperate with the police investigation.'' U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, who announced the results of the investigation on the 11th, emphasized that ``Otani was the victim of this incident'' and ``Otani fully cooperated with the investigation.''
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