Shohei Ohtani's longtime former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges on Tuesday in a federal court hearing. His sentencing hearing is in October.
The guilty plea essentially absolves the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar, Ohtani, of guilt for money that was wired from his account to an illegal bookie. Mizuhara took responsibility for the stolen money to fund an admitted gambling addiction. A judge ordered Mizuhara to seek treatment for addiction in April.
Ohtani has said very little about the incident since the scandal broke. He has been somewhat awkwardly placed in the mix, since the person he has become accustomed to relaying his words in English from Japanese, his native language, is involved and no longer working with him. Another Dodgers employee has been assigned as his interpreter in the meantime.
