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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Mar 21, 2024 13:52:14 GMT -5
This all started, it seems, when someone at the L.A. Times received information that Ohtani's name came up during an FBI investigation of a bookie based in Southern California. After reporters reached out to Ohtani's team, his lawyers issued a statement accusing the interpreter of "massive theft." But then another rep for Ohtani stated that Ohtani paid the bookie $4.5 million directly in order to cover his interpreter's (and friend, by all accounts) gambling debts. Then the interpreter said Ohtani knew nothing about the debt...or something?
There's some weirdness surrounding Ohtani these days.
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Post by mikegarrison on Mar 21, 2024 14:58:30 GMT -5
If it really was theft, then surely it violated a lot of laws, and the guy is looking at serious prison time and not just losing his job.
Of course, if it wasn't theft, then Ohtani is lying about it.
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Post by BearClause on Mar 21, 2024 15:16:08 GMT -5
This all started, it seems, when someone at the L.A. Times received information that Ohtani's name came up during an FBI investigation of a bookie based in Southern California. After reporters reached out to Ohtani's team, his lawyers issued a statement accusing the interpreter of "massive theft." But then another rep for Ohtani stated that Ohtani paid the bookie $4.5 million directly in order to cover his interpreter's (and friend, by all accounts) gambling debts. Then the interpreter said Ohtani knew nothing about the debt...or something? There's some weirdness surrounding Ohtani these days. Obviously someone is lying here as in CYA. The possibilities are that Ohtani made these bets and the interpreter is just the fall guy. Or it could be that Ohtani trusted this guy enough to "give him the keys" where he could do this stuff. The bookie seems to be the one claiming that he never dealt with Ohtani. I'm not sure how bets would have been placed, but I'd think phone call records would likely be subpoenaed by prosecutors. However, it all will come out if there's any kind of prosecution where people will be under oath and subject to perjury. |
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Post by BearClause on Mar 21, 2024 21:49:29 GMT -5
An ESPN reporter says that sources close to the bookie say that Mizuhara was the one who made the bets. I suppose some might thing that Mizuhara could have been a go-between.
www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39780093/sources-reps-dodgers-shohei-ohtani-ask-investigate-theftSources close to the gambling operation told ESPN that Bowyer dealt directly with Mizuhara, who placed bets on international soccer matches and other sports -- but not baseball -- starting in 2021. A source said Bowyer was aware of the name on the wire transfers but chose not to ask any questions as long as payments came in; however, the source said Bowyer allowed people to believe Ohtani was a client in order to boost business. "Mr. Bowyer never met or spoke with Shohei Ohtani," Bowyer's attorney, Diane Bass, told ESPN. She declined to answer any other questions. |
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Post by oldnewbie on Mar 21, 2024 22:11:29 GMT -5
This all started, it seems, when someone at the L.A. Times received information that Ohtani's name came up during an FBI investigation of a bookie based in Southern California. After reporters reached out to Ohtani's team, his lawyers issued a statement accusing the interpreter of "massive theft." But then another rep for Ohtani stated that Ohtani paid the bookie $4.5 million directly in order to cover his interpreter's (and friend, by all accounts) gambling debts. Then the interpreter said Ohtani knew nothing about the debt...or something? There's some weirdness surrounding Ohtani these days. When I first heard of this, my initial thought, based on nothing but pure speculation, was uh oh, this is exactly what would happen if it was Ohtani betting. He wouldn't do it personally, he would place bets through his assistant. The assistant absolutely could have a gambling problem, but Ohtani certainly fits the profile of someone who could get caught up and lose $4+ million. Ohtani has been here long enough, well as just got married, so it is a convenient time and he is ready to move on without his friend/interpreter, who could conveniently take the fall, go back to Japan, and quietly keep getting paid his very nice salary $300k to $500k salary from Ohtani. Again, 100% pure speculation, but to me it fits better than the the story being told. |
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Post by mervinswerved on Mar 21, 2024 22:30:50 GMT -5
This all started, it seems, when someone at the L.A. Times received information that Ohtani's name came up during an FBI investigation of a bookie based in Southern California. After reporters reached out to Ohtani's team, his lawyers issued a statement accusing the interpreter of "massive theft." But then another rep for Ohtani stated that Ohtani paid the bookie $4.5 million directly in order to cover his interpreter's (and friend, by all accounts) gambling debts. Then the interpreter said Ohtani knew nothing about the debt...or something? There's some weirdness surrounding Ohtani these days. When I first heard of this, my initial thought, based on nothing but pure speculation, was uh oh, this is exactly what would happen if it was Ohtani betting. He wouldn't do it personally, he would place bets through his assistant. The assistant absolutely could have a gambling problem, but Ohtani certainly fits the profile of someone who could get caught up and lose $4+ million. Ohtani has been here long enough, well as just got married, so it is a convenient time and he is ready to move on without his friend/interpreter, who could conveniently take the fall, go back to Japan, and quietly keep getting paid his very nice salary $300k to $500k salary from Ohtani. Again, 100% pure speculation, but to me it fits better than the the story being told. Right. A guy making tens of millions a year betting $4 million isn't crazy by any means. |
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Post by volleyguy on Mar 21, 2024 22:56:20 GMT -5
This all started, it seems, when someone at the L.A. Times received information that Ohtani's name came up during an FBI investigation of a bookie based in Southern California. After reporters reached out to Ohtani's team, his lawyers issued a statement accusing the interpreter of "massive theft." But then another rep for Ohtani stated that Ohtani paid the bookie $4.5 million directly in order to cover his interpreter's (and friend, by all accounts) gambling debts. Then the interpreter said Ohtani knew nothing about the debt...or something? There's some weirdness surrounding Ohtani these days. When I first heard of this, my initial thought, based on nothing but pure speculation, was uh oh, this is exactly what would happen if it was Ohtani betting. He wouldn't do it personally, he would place bets through his assistant. The assistant absolutely could have a gambling problem, but Ohtani certainly fits the profile of someone who could get caught up and lose $4+ million. Ohtani has been here long enough, well as just got married, so it is a convenient time and he is ready to move on without his friend/interpreter, who could conveniently take the fall, go back to Japan, and quietly keep getting paid his very nice salary $300k to $500k salary from Ohtani. Again, 100% pure speculation, but to me it fits better than the the story being told. Some things don't make sense. If this guy was the go between, Ohtani likely doesn't want him accused of, or prosecuted for, theft. So perhaps the spokesperson who initially characterized it that way didn't know the backstory, and Ohtani had to walk it back. (Also, the guy was born in Japan, but he grew up in California and may not have significant ties to Japan, so that type of resolution may not be so simple.) Apparently, some of the wire transfers referenced "loan" in the remarks (I think that was in an LA Times article). There will definitely be an investigation either by some law enforcement agency and by MLB, and it should be fairly easy to determine how the funds were authorized and sent. |
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Post by mikegarrison on Mar 21, 2024 23:47:07 GMT -5
By baseball rules, it is allowed for players to bet on sports other than baseball or softball. However, it is not allowed under those rules to make illegal bets. And under California law, these are illegal bets.
Which means that Ohtani's baseball career is under some threat here, and thus there is reason to be suspicious of the initial story that he had no involvement except as an unwitting theft victim.
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Post by BearClause on Mar 21, 2024 23:51:09 GMT -5
This all started, it seems, when someone at the L.A. Times received information that Ohtani's name came up during an FBI investigation of a bookie based in Southern California. After reporters reached out to Ohtani's team, his lawyers issued a statement accusing the interpreter of "massive theft." But then another rep for Ohtani stated that Ohtani paid the bookie $4.5 million directly in order to cover his interpreter's (and friend, by all accounts) gambling debts. Then the interpreter said Ohtani knew nothing about the debt...or something? There's some weirdness surrounding Ohtani these days. When I first heard of this, my initial thought, based on nothing but pure speculation, was uh oh, this is exactly what would happen if it was Ohtani betting. He wouldn't do it personally, he would place bets through his assistant. The assistant absolutely could have a gambling problem, but Ohtani certainly fits the profile of someone who could get caught up and lose $4+ million. Ohtani has been here long enough, well as just got married, so it is a convenient time and he is ready to move on without his friend/interpreter, who could conveniently take the fall, go back to Japan, and quietly keep getting paid his very nice salary $300k to $500k salary from Ohtani. Again, 100% pure speculation, but to me it fits better than the the story being told. He can't quietly go back to Japan because he grew up in the United States, although someone else noted that he was born in Japan. What I heard is that he went to college at UC Riverside. I would think he's a naturalized US citizen by now and Japan doesn't allow for dual citizenship. He's been a translator for some time - both in MLB on behalf of Japanese players and in Japan for English speaking players. As an interpreter, he's always been an employee of a team except for the MLB lockout, where he had to resign since team employees couldn't officially work with players. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ippei_MizuharaBut yeah he sounds very Japanese-American. This is him being interviewed. |
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Post by BearClause on Mar 21, 2024 23:59:03 GMT -5
By baseball rules, it is allowed for players to bet on sports other than baseball or softball. However, it is not allowed under those rules to make illegal bets. And under California law, these are illegal bets. Which means that Ohtani's baseball career is under some threat here, and thus it is hard to believe the initial story that he had no involvement except as an unwitting theft victim. The discussion is that these bets placed by Mizuhara were on soccer, so they wouldn't be betting on baseball. Rule 21 is basically what got Pete Rose a lifetime ban, since he bet on baseball games that he was managing. But there are three parts of the gambling portion of Rule 21. Since Mizuhara was an employee, he would be subject to the rule on making bets through an illegal bookmaker. |
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Post by volleyguy on Mar 21, 2024 23:59:03 GMT -5
When I first heard of this, my initial thought, based on nothing but pure speculation, was uh oh, this is exactly what would happen if it was Ohtani betting. He wouldn't do it personally, he would place bets through his assistant. The assistant absolutely could have a gambling problem, but Ohtani certainly fits the profile of someone who could get caught up and lose $4+ million. Ohtani has been here long enough, well as just got married, so it is a convenient time and he is ready to move on without his friend/interpreter, who could conveniently take the fall, go back to Japan, and quietly keep getting paid his very nice salary $300k to $500k salary from Ohtani. Again, 100% pure speculation, but to me it fits better than the the story being told. He can't quietly go back to Japan because he grew up in the United States, although someone else noted that he was born in Japan. What I heard is that he went to college at UC Riverside. I would think he's a naturalized US citizen by now and Japan doesn't allow for dual citizenship. He's been a translator for some time - both in MLB on behalf of Japanese players and in Japan for English speaking players. As an interpreter, he's always been an employee of a team except for the MLB lockout, where he had to resign since team employees couldn't officially work with players. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ippei_MizuharaBut yeah he sounds very Japanese-American. This is him being interviewed. He grew up in Diamond Bar, CA, a wealthy city in the foothils on the western edge of LA County with a large asian population (southwest of where I grew up and at the intersection of the 60 and 57 freeways). Not sure if he is a naturalized citizen, but almost certainly a permanent resident. |
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Post by volleyguy on Mar 22, 2024 1:09:59 GMT -5
Reports are that Ohtani’s reps have stated that an unnamed law enforcement agency was contacted and asked to investigate the theft:
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Post by oldnewbie on Mar 22, 2024 13:27:10 GMT -5
When I first heard of this, my initial thought, based on nothing but pure speculation, was uh oh, this is exactly what would happen if it was Ohtani betting. He wouldn't do it personally, he would place bets through his assistant. The assistant absolutely could have a gambling problem, but Ohtani certainly fits the profile of someone who could get caught up and lose $4+ million. Ohtani has been here long enough, well as just got married, so it is a convenient time and he is ready to move on without his friend/interpreter, who could conveniently take the fall, go back to Japan, and quietly keep getting paid his very nice salary $300k to $500k salary from Ohtani. Again, 100% pure speculation, but to me it fits better than the the story being told. Right. A guy making tens of millions a year betting $4 million isn't crazy by any means. How do you define "crazy"? Losing almost twice the gross you are paid (6 years at $300K to $500K, so maybe $2.5 million?), even before taxes and expenses requires a massive amount of pure theft along with hiding it from your wife and outright stealing large sums from your friend and employer. Betting $4.5 million of the $42.2 million Ohtani made from the Angels (presumably with the aid of Ippei) with a massive $700 million payday approaching, isn't unheard of for highly competitive athletes. John Daly estimated gambling losses between $55 and $75 million. Rose was betting up to $10k a day, back when that was real money. Barkley admitted losing $10 million. Mayweather reported he won $3 million on a football game and regularly bets $25k to $400k, and has talked about the gambling rush. Unknown how much Michael Jordan has lost, but he owed $1.25 million for a 10 day golfing binge, and somebody sold a check he wrote in college for a pool debt. The KNOWN list goes on and on, though the amounts 40+ years ago seem smaller, they were often actually larger relative to salary. |
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Post by bbg95 on Mar 23, 2024 12:17:36 GMT -5
This really bums me out. Dodgers fire Shohei Ohtani's interpreter amid allegation of 'massive theft' The Los Angeles Dodgers interpreter for Shohei Ohtani was fired Wednesday afternoon after questions surrounding at least $4.5 million in wire transfers sent from Ohtani's bank account to a bookmaking operation set off a series of events. Ippei Mizuhara, the longtime friend and interpreter for Ohtani, incurred the gambling debts to a Southern California bookmaking operation that is under federal investigation, multiple sources told ESPN. How he came to lose his job started with reporters asking questions about the wire transfers. www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39768770/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-interpreter-fired-theftDo you think there's any possibility that the gambling debts were actually Ohtani's and Mizuhara is covering for him? Yes. Not only do I think that's possible, I think it's the most likely explanation for what happened. |
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Post by bbg95 on Mar 23, 2024 12:28:37 GMT -5
If Shohei is a degenerate gambler, his deferred contract situation makes more sense now.
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