More Details Emerge On Shohei Ohtani Translator Investigation

The baseball world this week has been rocked by the shocking story of Shohei Ohtani's interpreter allegedly taking $4.5 million from the superstar to pay for illegal sports betting debts.

Despite being a relatively new story, there's already been a number of twists and turns that have raised doubts and further questions. Notably, that the explanation for what happened changed substantially from one day to the next. Initially, Ippei Mizuhara claimed in an interview with ESPN that he'd gone to Ohtani to tell him about the gambling debts, and that Ohtani, while unhappy, had paid them. 

The next day though, that changed, with Ohtani's attorneys saying that Ohtani was a victim of "massive theft" and that they'd referred the matter to the authorities.

READ: Video In Dodgers Dugout Casts Doubt On Shohei Ohtani Interpreter Story

Many found it hard to believe that it'd even be possible for his translator to take that much money. But as anyone with experience in these areas will tell you, it's a lot easier than the public might expect.

Now though, there's been yet another twist in the story, and it may indicate that Ohtani's representatives were telling the truth about their belief in a "massive theft."

Los Angeles - Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtan (left) speaks to interpreter Ippei Mizuhara at introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium on Dec. 14, 2023. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

New Confirmation Of A Criminal Investigation Into Shohei Ohtani's Interpreter

The Associated Press reported on Friday that Ohtani's translator is, in fact, under criminal investigation by the IRS. 

"The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office," the story reads. "IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details."

Until there's further information released, it's impossible to draw any firm conclusions as to what exactly happened. But if Ohtani's attorneys did refer Mizuhara to the IRS, it does lend some credence to the "theft" version of events. 

If his representatives lied to the IRS to implicate Mizuhara, that could open up the possibility of more direct penalties. Essentially, it could be even worse than if Ohtani had paid gambling debts, without realizing it was illegal.

Does it fully explain the situation and exonerate Ohtani entirely? Not necessarily, but it is a notable development regardless.

Will We Ever Learn The Truth?

Without a comprehensive investigation and the release of detailed Information afterwards, it's likely we'll never find out exactly what happened. Ohtani is notoriously private and already avoids media attention. On Friday though, Major League Baseball announced they were an opening a formal investigation into the allegation.

An investigation doesn't mean that we'll get a full accounting of what happened, but if Ohtani is cleared by the league, it will at least put some official certainty behind it.

Until we learn the results of the investigation, we can guess at what happened; perhaps Ippei told Ohtani about gambling debt, without revealing the extent of the money involved. Maybe Ohtani told him to pay the debts, but only learned about the scale of it when Mizuhara confessed this week.

Or maybe he never knew, and is entirely a victim. For Dodgers fans though, at least they got one game with Ohtani before the drama started.