SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani is set to be sentenced for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account.
Ippei Mizhuara was supposed to bridge the language gap between the Japanese pitcher — who previously played for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim — and his English-speaking teammates and fans. Instead, Mizuhara exploited the language barrier to isolate Ohtani and profit from his proximity to the two-way player ’s power.
Mizuhara pleaded guilty last year to federal charges after he was accused of siphoning money out of Ohtani’s bank account to cover sports gambling bets and debts in a case that has stoked an international…
