“Who am I talking with?” a financial institution agent is heard asking in a clip posted by Jomboy Media on X.
“Shohei Ohtani,” Mizuhara solutions.
He continues to move a two-factor authentication course of utilizing his personal private cellphone and solutions a number of follow-up safety questions appearing as Ohtani.
The practically four-minute lengthy recording shall be used within the prosecution’s case towards Mizuhara who has pled responsible to financial institution fraud and submitting a false tax return after stealing roughly $17M from Ohtani.
Mizuhara’s protection argues he stole the cash because of a playing habit however prosecutors aren’t shopping for that. They plan to make use of the recording as proof Mizuhara spent a part of the stolen funds for private bills not associated to playing, per courtroom filings (h/t The Athletic).
In somewhat over two years, Mizuhara racked up over $4 million in playing money owed. He was fired as Ohtani’s interpreter in March after an ESPN investigation uncovered his unethical habits.
Ohtani was cleared by investigators and the MLB of any wrongdoing within the matter.
Prosecutors are recommending a five-year sentence for Mizuhara, together with practically $17M in restitution paid again to Ohtani plus $1.1M to the IRS. Mizuhara is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 6.
