Ohtani Interpreter: ‘I’m Terrible at This Sport Betting Thing’

  • Mizuhara text messages showed rising losses on sports bets
  • ‘Technically, I did steal,’ Mizuhara texted his bookmaker

Ippei Mizuhara stands next to Shohei Ohtani during an interview.

Photographer: Richard Vogel/AP Photos
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A detailed complaint against Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter and close friend of Shohei Ohtani, shows how he orchestrated a sprawling scheme over more than two years to steal over $16 million of the baseball star’s money to pay gambling debts.

Here are some key revelations in the 36-page criminal complaint filed by the US Justice Department against Mizuhara, 39, and released by Martin Estrada, the US attorney in Los Angeles.