Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has just been charged with a felony ... after federal prosecutors say they discovered he stole nearly $20 million from the MLB superstar to, in part, pay off his massive gambling debts.
The United States Department of Justice just announced the filing ... saying at a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday they were formally hitting Mizuhara with one count of bank fraud.
If convicted, they said the charge carries a maximum of up to 30 years in prison.