I will start with an obvious caveat – as far as we know, Shohei Ohtani was unaware his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was using his funds to gamble on sports. MLB has concluded as such, and we know from experience they take this sort of thing very seriously. Ohtani has released statements detailing how shocked he was to discover Ippei's gambling struggles. Mizuhara has since been sentenced to 57 months in prison.
That will not be the end of Ohtani's association with sports gambling, however. Matthew Bowyer, who ran one of the largest illegal bookmaking operations in the United States and took money from Ippei, had a lot to say about one of his former clients as he awaits his own trial and sentencing.
“I know the whole world wants to know (if Ohtani knew about Mizuhara's gambling)," Bowyer said, “but to this day, I truly don’t know. They are the only two people in the world who really know the truth, Shohei and Ippei. I truly believe that Shohei doesn’t gamble, but I think he knew some area of demise with Ippei, just maybe not to that extent."
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Shohei Ohtani can't escape Ippei Mizuhara gambling scandal
Ohtani has claimed he never knew about Mizuhara's debts, or his involvement in a gambling operation. In a statement released by Ohtani and his representation, the three-time MVP painted a portrait of betrayal following the FBI case against Mizuhara.
"It was revealed to me in that meeting that Ippei admitted that he was sending money, using my account, to the bookmaker. At that moment, obviously it was an absurd thing that was happening, and I contacted my representatives at that point. When I finally was able to talk to my representatives, that's when my representatives found out Ippei had been lying the whole time. And that's when I began contacting the Dodgers and my lawyers. The Dodgers and the lawyers at that moment found out as well that they'd been lied to," Ohtani said regarding Mizuhara using his account to pay off personal debts.
Ohtani has for the most part remained clean in the aftermath of Ippei's gambling allegations, instead playing the part of an innocent victim and bystander while Mizuhara took advantage of Shohei's lack of financial literacy in the states. It's not uncommon for interpreter's to handle their clients money. It is uncommon for those in a player's inner circle to betray that trust.
Bowyer was merely answering a question from USA Today's Bob Nightengale, but the last thing the Dodgers need are more distractions as they hope to repeat as World Series champions.