MLB considers Shohei Ohtani a victim of fraud and closes investigation

Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports

The excitement surrounding the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2024 season following the signing of Shohei Ohtani was somewhat dampened when the two-way superstar and his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara found themselves at the center of a betting scandal.

Mizuhara was quickly fired after he was accused of stealing millions of dollars from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts. After lying about the original events, many questions had to be answered about what happened and Ohtani’s possible involvement in the matter.

A federal investigation brought charges of bank fraud and tax fraud against Mizuhara and concluded that Ohtani was a victim in that case. MLB’s own investigation continued after the federal charges against Mizuhara, but has now been concluded.

The MLB investigation came to the same conclusion as the federal investigation: Ohtani was the victim of a theft and did not participate in sports betting.

“Due to the thoroughness of the publicly disclosed federal investigation, the information collected by MLB, and the fact that the criminal case was settled without objection, MLB considers Shohei Ohtani to be a victim of fraud and the matter has been closed,” the league said in a statement.

Mizuhara previously formally pleaded guilty to the charges against him and faces up to 33 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for October 25, 2024 at 2 p.m. PT.

Ohtani has since been cleared of any wrongdoing by several federal agencies and Major League Baseball, and from his side the situation has been resolved.

He admitted that the situation had affected him earlier in the season, so hopefully he can put it completely behind him and move on. Ohtani is also expected to speak again after both investigations are completed and Mizuhara enters a guilty plea.

Dodgers statement on conclusion of investigation into Shohei Ohtani

After news broke that MLB’s investigation was complete, the Dodgers released their own statement on the matter.

“With today’s plea in the criminal case against Ippei Mizuhara and the conclusion of the investigations at both the federal and MLB levels, the Dodgers are pleased that Shohei and the team can put this entire matter behind them and now begin chasing a World Series title.”

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