Sept. 15, 2024 3 AM PT
Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter has pleaded guilty to stealing millions from him to feed a sports gambling habit. The man who took Ippei Mizuhara’s bets entered a guilty plea to running an illegal bookmaking operation.
Major League Baseball has closed its investigation into the matter. And the Dodgers are delighted that Ohtani is putting up Hall of Fame numbers at the plate.
But the federal criminal probe that targeted Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, his Orange County-based bookmaker — and cleared Ohtani of any wrongdoing — is ongoing, even as MLB has been forced to deal with more forbidden gambling.