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.
Here's what Ohtani said in a statement, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale:
"Now that the investigation has been completed, this full admission of guilt has brought important closure to me and my family. I want to sincerely thank the authorities for finishing their thorough and effective investigation so quickly and uncovering all of the evidence. This has been a uniquely challenging time, so I am especially grateful for my support team - my family, agent, agency, lawyers, and advisors along with the entire Dodger organization, who showed endless support throughout this process. It's time to close this chapter, move on and continue to focus on playing and winning ballgames."
Ohtani, a two-way pitcher/batter is taking the year off from pitching to recover from a torn UCL. He has hit 14 home runs, slashing .322/.392/.596 this season with the Dodgers.
JOSH WILSON
