Disgraced Dodgers Interpreter Implicates Shohei Ohtani, Blames ‘Lifestyle’ For Illegal Gambling In Confession Release

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 20: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks connected anterior to the crippled against the Philadelphia Phillies astatine Citizens Bank Park connected July 20, 2026 successful Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Dodgers 10-7. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

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In 2024, soon aft he made his master debut pinch the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani relayed an urgent connection to the property astir accusations that he had paid disconnected a sports gambling indebtedness pinch a book maker.

“In the people of responding to caller media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the unfortunate of a monolithic theft, and we are turning the matter complete to the authorities," Ohtani’s lawyers told ESPN arsenic newsman Tisha Thompson prepared to stock an first confession from his long-time expert Ippei Mizuhara.

While Mizuhara first told Thompson that Ohtani knew astir a $4.5 cardinal gambling indebtedness he accrued pinch an underground bookmaker and helped him salary it disconnected successful increments, he later admitted to stealing money from Ohtani’s slope relationship without his knowledge.

Federal investigators yet cleared Ohtani of immoderate wrongdoing, but Mizuhara’s first statements astir the crime, which were made to Thompson complete the telephone pinch a paid Ohtani spokesperson listening in, generated immoderate unresolved intrigue, moreover though he recanted them soon afterward.

And now, Thompson and ESPN person released the exclusive audio from that speech successful the “The Betrayal Of Shohei Ohtani” podcast, providing entree to Mizuhara’s only extended chat astir the ungraded for the first time.

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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Former Interpreter Explains Shohei Ohtani Linked Gambling, ‘Hard For Me To Make Ends Meet’

In the 2nd section of the caller podcast, Thompson shares extended audio clips from a 2024 telephone speech pinch Mizuhara that see the specifications of really and why he started wagering done Matt Boyer, the usability of an forbidden gambling business.

Boyer extended Mizuhara an first statement of credit, the erstwhile expert said, and he quickly accrued a important debt.

“At the time, I couldn’t stock this pinch Shohei, but it was difficult for maine to make my ends meet,” Mizuhara told Thompson successful the newly-released audio, which was shared successful beforehand pinch Forbes. “I was benignant of going paycheck to paycheck because I benignant of had to support up pinch his lifestyle… I didn’t want to spell to him for thief financially, worldly for illustration that. So I was conscionable trying to make ends meet connected my broadside and I was successful indebtedness a small spot and worldly with, like, my parents and immoderate friends.”

Mizuhara added that, astatine the time, he earned $85,000 per twelvemonth arsenic Ohtani’s expert pinch the Los Angeles Angels. In summation to linking his original money troubles to his activity pinch Ohtani, Mizuhara told Thompson that Ohtani agreed to salary it disconnected for him successful $500,000 increments via ligament transfer, which were marked from his slope relationship arsenic “loans.”

“He knew the full magnitude and he knew we had to make respective payments because we couldn’t nonstop much than $500,000 astatine a time,” Mizuhara told Thompson. “I would do it pinch him each time.”

As Thompson noted successful the podcast, Mizuhara appeared to implicate Ohtani pinch nonstop knowledge of the payments to Boyer and the Ohtani-paid spokesperson sitting successful connected the confession did not chime successful to refute the claim. But arsenic she prepared to study the specifications of Mizuhara’s first confession, Ohtani recovered retired astir the question and reply and quickly offered his broadside of the incident done a ineligible team.

Mizuhara was later recovered blameworthy of transferring astir $17 cardinal from Ohtani’s slope relationship without the player’s knowledge and is now serving a situation sentence.

Bombshell Ippei Mizuhara Confession Briefly Implicated Los Angeles Dodgers Superstar Shohei Ohtani In Illegal Sports Bets

But the recently released audio of Mizuhara’s confession is notable, if only for the bizarre twists and turns that followed. Just hours later, Ohtani would declare that he had ne'er known astir his long-time interpreter’s money transfers because Mizuhara translated virtually each speech for him and intentionally obscured things while stealing millions from his slope account.

Aside from pinning his first liking successful gambling to money troubles caused by moving pinch Ohtani, the erstwhile translator besides mentioned much than erstwhile that he was acrophobic of disappointing the two-way star, who he said was person than a brother.

“Initially, I didn’t want to spell to him astir making my ends meet,” Mizuhara said. “Yes (I was frightened). Afraid of a batch of things, I mean, the spot that we built up, acrophobic that mightiness spell away. He mightiness deliberation of maine differently, worldly for illustration that.”

Mizuhara besides vowed to salary Ohtani’s $4.5 cardinal back, moreover though he would soon uncover that his confession was fabricated.

“I’m going to salary him back,” Mizuhara told Thompson. “I told him I’m going to salary him back. It mightiness return a while, but I told him, moreover if he says no, I’m going to make each the effort to salary him back.”

After the erstwhile expert was sentenced to situation clip for the incident, he was ordered to salary astir $17 cardinal successful restitution to Ohtani.