Update on the Ohtani saga.
Sam Blum
@SamBlum3
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17m
US Attorney Martin Estrada announces a federal criminal complaint against Ippei Mizuhara.
The complaint alleges bank fraud, to finance “voracious appetite for illegal sports betting.”
Nicole Auerbach reposted
Sam Blum
@SamBlum3
US Attorney Martin Estrada said the bank account was set up by Ippei Mizuhara in 2018.
He said the Ippei's illegal gambling began in 2021, and his bets became more and more prevalent.
"The bets do not appear to have been made on the sport of baseball."
12:38 PM · Apr 11, 2024
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Sam Blum
@SamBlum3
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13m
US Attorney Martin Estrada said Ippei Mizuhara stole more than $16 million from Shohei Ohtani.
He allegedly lied to the bank to steal the money. And pretended to be Ohtani in order to convince the bank to approve the wire transfers.
Sam Blum
@SamBlum3
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11m
When Ippei did win a bet, the money was not deposited into Ohtani's bank account. Rather, the US attorney said, it would go into Ippei's bank account.
He "used and abused that position of trust."
Sam Blum
@SamBlum3
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2m
Bank fraud carries a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison.
The U.S. attorney did not say to what degree Ippei Mizuhara complied with the investigation.
He's set to appear in federal court in the coming days.
It’s appearing plausible if not likely that Shohei was a victim and not a participant in nefarious actions. Does go to show that ‘naive’ takes that are often scoffed at are sometimes correct. When situations like this emerge, it’s usually a rush to believe the worst - in this case with no one knowing details, no one knowing Shohei or the interpreter, know one (probably) knowing what it’s like to have tens of millions of dollars in the bank and entrusting someone to the point that they have access to accounts. People just rush to thinking they know how the world operates and how people operate and therefore jump to conclusions and roll their eyes at those who think otherwise.
Not everyone here or elsewhere presumed Shohei had involvement, but many did. Shows that patience is probably the wiser way to go.
EDIT: wrote the above before reading what CC wrote. I agree with you.