Where Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s stolen millions went

The Ippei Mizuhara-gambling scandal shocked the MLB world early in the season. For those who may not be aware, Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, was accused of stealing millions of dollars from the Los Angeles Dodgers star for gambling purposes. So what happened to the money Mizuhara took from Ohtani’s bank account?

Mizuhara was accused of stealing $16 million from Ohtani. Sources provided an update on the payments from Mizuhara to an illegal bookmaker, per Tisha Thompson of ESPN.

“The series of $500,000 payments Ippei Mizuhara sent from Shohei Ohtani’s bank account to an illegal bookmaking operation were forwarded to California and Las Vegas casinos, where the money was deposited in gambling accounts, converted to playing chips and later cashed out to pay the bookie, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the operation told ESPN,” Thompson wrote in an ESPN article.

Ohtani was hoping to begin his Dodgers career by focusing on baseball. He surely knew that signing with the Dodgers would lead to distractions, but he certainly was not prepared to be betrayed by his interpreter, and friend, Ippei Mizuhara.

The incident was first reported while the Dodgers were playing the San Diego Padres in South Korea on March 20 and March 21. Ohtani later released a statement before the Dodgers’ home opener.

Although rumors were swirling about Shohei Ohtani’s possible involvement in the situation, he ended up getting cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation.

“I’m very grateful for the Department of Justice’s investigation. For me personally, this marks a break from this, and I’d like to focus on baseball,” Ohtani said previously, via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

Shohei Ohtani performing well despite circumstances