Lawyers Ask for the Postponement of Ippei Mizuhara’s Arraignment

Yesterday, lawyers from the US Department of Justice asked for the postponement of Ippei Mizuhara’s arraignment. The interpreter was allegedly involved in a multi-million gambling scheme, stealing millions of dollars from his former friend, Shohei Ohtani.

Mizuhara served as the interpreter and confidant of the Los Angeles Dodgers star player for years, accompanying him throughout his career. In fact, Mizuhara was something of a manager to Ohtani and was always by his side.

Unbeknownst to the athlete, however, Mizuhara was leveraging his closeness to tap into Ohtani’s money and use it to gamble and cover his gambling debts. According to earlier reports, the interpreter channeled a total of $16 million into an underground scheme run by Matthew Bowyer, a prominent figure in California gambling. Mizuhara is believed to have placed over 19,000 illegal bets between 2021 and 2024.

Mizuhara’s gambling habits came to light in March, causing him to be fired. He now risks up to 30 years in prison.

Mizuhara’s attorney, Michael Freedman agreed to the proposal to postpone the arraignment to May 14. As of the time of this writing, the move is yet to be officially approved.

For context, Mizuhara’s arraignment is currently scheduled for May 9.

Ohtani Continues to Excel Despite the Investigation

The authorities believe that Ohtani has been a victim of Mizuhara’s betting scheme. During earlier press conferences, the athlete said that he was beyond shocked and disappointed to learn that he had been cheated by one of his closest allies.

However, Ohtani didn’t allow the drama to drag him down and continued to excel. According to the Dodgers’ manager, Ohtani now seems much closer to the rest of the team and can be seen outside of the batter’s box much more often.

In a statement, the baseball star praised his new interpreter and thanked the Dodgers for being so supportive.

In the meantime, MLB officials do not plan to intervene with their own investigation yet. According to commissioner Bob Manfred, the league prefers to allow the federals to do their job since they have better tools at their disposal.

Manfred added that his team is rarely in a position where it can allow such a process to play out without needing to intervene.