Major League Baseball has opened a formal investigation into illegal gambling and theft allegations involving the Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Mizuhara was let go from the team on Wednesday after reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker.
“Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei [Mizuhara] from the news media,” the commissioner’s office said in a statement on Friday. “Earlier today, our Department of Investigations began their formal process investigating the matter.”
Ohtani and the Dodgers were in Seoul, South Korea, for their opening series against the San Diego Padres when reports were published about alleged ties between the 39-year-old Mizuhara and an illegal bookmaker. The teams returned to the US after Thursday night’s game and MLB did not make a public comment until announcing the investigation on Friday.
Sports betting is legal in most US states but is still outlawed in California, where Ohtani plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. MLB players and staff are allowed to bet on sports other than baseball but are forbidden from gambling with illegal bookmakers. Any violation of the rules would leave players or staff subject to punishment from the MLB commissioner, Rob Manfred. There is no suggestion that Ohtani has ever gambled himself.
The IRS confirmed on Thursday that Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles field office. An IRS criminal investigation spokesperson, Scott Villiard, said he could not provide additional details.
