Ippei Mizuhara, former translator of Japanese baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, was charged Thursday with embezzlement of more than $16 million to the detriment of the player. The 39-year-old, who was fired by the team in March, is being prosecuted for bank fraud, punishable by a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, prosecutors said in a press release.
The translator allegedly posed as OhTani to encourage bankers to authorize transfers and even modified his banking details to link them to his telephone number as well as an anonymous email address. The Japanese, twice elected best player (MVP) of the championship where he has been playing since 2018, shines with throwing and batting, a rare combination. the Ministry of Defense. Ohtania, 29, was recruited at the end of 2023 by the Dodgers with a record contract of 700 million dollars (642 million euros) over ten years. He has been named the best player in the world.