Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara hopes the two-way star can forgive him.

Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara allegedly stole millions of dollars from the Los Angeles Dodgers star to pay back an illegal bookie. A police investigation revealed Ohtani did not know his money was being used in this way, hence why Mizuhara is no longer employed and Ohtani is the butt of gambling jokes to this day.

Mizuhara is expected to plead guilty to fraud charges.

“The extent of this defendant’s deception and theft is massive,” US Attorney Martin Estrada said. “He took advantage of his position of trust to take advantage of Mr Ohtani and fuel a dangerous gambling habit.”

The 29-year-old Ohtani broke his silence on the Mizuhara investigation in late March, stating that he was ‘saddened’ by the entire situation and calling out Ippei for ‘telling lies’, such as using his identity.

“I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to do it on my behalf, and I have never gone through a bookmaker to bet on sports and was never asked to assist betting payment for anyone else,” Ohtani said. “I never bet on sports or have willfully sent money to the bookmaker.”

Ippei Mizuhara has a message for Shohei Ohtani

As far as the public knows, Ohtani hasn’t had any contact with Mizuhara since the Dodgers fired him. Mizuhara is still facing charges and possible jail time in the United States.

Per Yahoo! Japan, Mizuhara was approached by foreign press and asked if he has a message for Ohtani. Rather than detail any words that have spoken between the two, all Mizuhara had to say was ‘sorry.’

Mizuhara initially told ESPN that Ohtani paid his gambling debts, but changed his story the very next day.

“All of this has been a complete lie,” Ohtani said. “Ippei obviously basically didn’t tell me about the media inquiry. So Ippei has been telling everyone around that he has been communicating with me on this account to the media and my team, and that hasn’t been true.”

Ohtani first became aware of Mizuhara’s gambling debts during the Seoul Series between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres to open the 2024 season.