The Ohtani Gambling Saga

[John Price]

 

[#37]

It makes me uncomfortable that ESPN seems to be a leading voice on this story, when they have an obvious conflict of interest.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Although is seems outrageous to us normies…it’s definitely not inconceivable to me that a professional athlete superstar in his 20’s who is already incredibly wealthy and has basically guaranteed generational wealth headed his way every single year wouldn’t exactly be all that familiar with what his bank account is sitting at nor really care…

Would he notice if one of his hefty paycheques from the team wasn't wired through?

 

[#37]

This story has 'legs'.

How the saga of Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter unfolded — and why it’s not over

Shohei Ohtani and his team allege that ex-interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stole from the Dodgers star's bank account to cover millions in gambling debt. Unanswered is how the interpreter could have pulled it off without anyone noticing.

www.latimes.com

Ohtani representatives refuse to give evidence they reported alleged theft

Unanswered questions remain over allegations Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter stole millions from the baseball star to pay off gambling debts

www.theguardian.com

 

[Moose Head]

This story does stink, but that said Rich celebrities do get scammed by people close to them. U2’s bass player was scammed out of 3 million by his housekeeper over a few years and his accountants didnt pick up the discrepancy.

 

[Voight]

This story does stink, but that said Rich celebrities do get scammed by people close to them. U2’s bass player was scammed out of 3 million by his housekeeper over a few years and his accountants didnt pick up the discrepancy.

Damn how did she manage that?

 

[Moose Head]

Damn how did she manage that?

Domestic aide sentenced for embezzling from U2 bassist Adam Clayton

Domestic aide sentenced for embezzling from U2 bassist Adam Clayton

www.latimes.com

 

[Voight]

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred hopes for "short" Shohei Ohtani gambling investigation

Major League Baseball is investigating the gambling controversy that emerged out of nowhere last week.

www.nbcsports.com

"Integrity of the game" ironic coming from Manclown

 

[GOilers88]

I'm not really knowledgeable with regards to gambling and using bookies.

But would a bookie actually let some random guy run up a 4.5 million dollar debt and keep letting him go? Seems like it would be more plausible if the money was coming from someone like...Shohei Ohtani?

Does Ippei just casually tell the bookie "Hey, I work for Shohei, trust me bro", and it's a done deal? Then millions go missing and not a single person is aware of it?

Why then, after Ippei's initial statement on the Tuesday where he says Shohei knew what was going on, and subsequent retraction of everything the next day, were they casually shooting the shit in the dugout during the game, if Shohei was just going to come out and disown the guy and bury him?

I'm not saying one way or the other, but to me it just seems like Ippei is the sacrificial lamb because it's easy. Stinks like hell imo.

 

[Voight]

I'm not really knowledgeable with regards to gambling and using bookies.

But would a bookie actually let some random guy run up a 4.5 million dollar debt and keep letting him go? Seems like it would be more plausible if the money was coming from someone like...Shohei Ohtani?

Does Ippei just casually tell the bookie "Hey, I work for Shohei, trust me bro", and it's a done deal? Then millions go missing and not a single person is aware of it?

Why then, after Ippei's initial statement on the Tuesday where he says Shohei knew what was going on, and subsequent retraction of everything the next day, were they casually shooting the shit in the dugout during the game, if Shohei was just going to come out and disown the guy and bury him?

I'm not saying one way or the other, but to me it just seems like Ippei is the sacrificial lamb because it's easy. Stinks like hell imo.

From my experience, no (I grew up with and still know a lot of bookies, some who deal with a lot of cash). If he was Ohtanis brother or something I could see it happening, solely because the bookie knows worst comes to worst Ohtani will (most likely) pay rather than risk something happening to a close family member. But for a guy who's his interpreter, even if they're friends? Zero chance he gets that much credit extended; unless this Matthew Boyer guy is the worst bookie in the history of bookmaking.

There is a pretty decent chance hes the sacrificial lamb. As you said, they were all buddy buddy even after this came out. As rich as he is, I dont buy it that Ohtani "didn't notice" that much money missing from his bank account. & as integral as an interpreter is for a guy who speaks no English, I am skeptical he had 100% access to his bank account. Or that the guys at JPMorgan or wherever he banks, didn't think to call him when someone requested wire transfers of hundreds of thousands to confirm the authenticity.

Not to mention it doesn't seem like he or his representatives ever reported theft.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

lol on what grounds?

He would have to have proof the Ohtani gambled on games and then say that he was treated differently than Ohtani.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

He would have to have proof the Ohtani gambled on games and then say that he was treated differently than Ohtani.

Pete Rose was faced with overwhelming evidence that he gambled on baseball and that he bet on his own team, repeatedly.

He was offered a formal hearing to defend himself on those charges. He chose not to attend the hearing and instead agreed to a settlement in which he voluntarily accepted a lifetime ban from baseball and agreed to never sue the commissioner or MLB over their decision. As part of the settlement MLB closed their investigation, Rose never formally admitted guilt, and he was allowed to petition for reinstatement in the future.

Even if Rose had not already waived his right to sue MLB in the future, he would have no grounds for a lawsuit. Courts have recognized that the MLB is a private business and that within that business the commissioner is afforded the authority to make certain disciplinary decisions in accordance with his judgment.

By that same principle Tom Wilson would have no legal grounds to sue Gary Bettman over his high sticking suspension, just because someone else subsequently commits a similar infraction and doesn’t receive the same punishment.


Here is a link to the full text of Rose’s agreement with MLB:

Baseball Almanac - Pete Rose / A. Bartlett Giamatti Agreement

Baseball Almanac presents the complete text and detailed information about the Pete Rose / A. Bartlett Giamatti Agreement on banishment.

www.baseball-almanac.com

 

[SoupNazi]

Or that the guys at JPMorgan or wherever he banks, didn't think to call him when someone requested wire transfers of hundreds of thousands to confirm the authenticity.

That's just it - if Ohtani was wiring a ton of money to a yacht dealer or car dealer, it's one thing. But if there truly was something illicit going on, his bankers should (and likely would, if they valued his business) have noticed that money going to another individual's account.

Hell, how many of us have banks that flag our debit cards if we try and spend a few dollars out of the country? I know mine does.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Source: Ohtani's ex-interpreter faces fed charges

The former interpreter for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is facing federal charges related to his alleged theft of millions from the slugger, a source confirmed to ESPN.

www.espn.com

Apparently he may have stolen more than 4.5mil. He made changes to Ohtani's bank account to disable notifications for transactions as well as other alerts.

 

[John Price]

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Apologies to Ohtani if this is indeed true. I for sure thought it was a coverup, and that there was no way Ohtani could not have noticed these missing funds. But if indeed his former interpreter was siphoning funds from his account, this story is even crazier than on the forefront.

 

[End of Line]

So he apparently stole $16,000,000

 

[John Price]

 

[kingsholygrail]

Apologies to Ohtani if this is indeed true. I for sure thought it was a coverup, and that there was no way Ohtani could not have noticed these missing funds. But if indeed his former interpreter was siphoning funds from his account, this story is even crazier than on the forefront.

It's not as crazy as you would initially think. There are tons of stories of athletes and celebrities losing millions to mismanagement or outright theft by people they trusted.

Edit: Also, it's incredible how easy it is to get access to someone's money if you know their SSN, name, DOB, and email/phone and know how to contact a support line for a bank. I work in these systems. It's really hard to protect them fully while also being convenient for users. I highly recommend everyone regularly check your accounts and make sure your settings are up to speed. Phishing can happen to anyone and it's only getting worse.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

I am going to befriend Ohtani if he is so clueless he doesn't miss 16 million dollars.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

I am going to befriend Ohtani if he is so clueless he doesn't miss 16 million dollars.

Did Ohtani f*** your wife or something?

 

[Chimaera]

From all accounts Ohtani doesn't really spend money and lives relatively simply, as far as a superstar athlete in California / Japan can do. I know when he was in Japan, the club he played for basically took care of everything. He just kinda did baseball, almost living in the dorm for the club. I have to believe that basically was what was happening here. The report that just came out makes it clear that this interpreter was more than just a translator for him, serving more or less as his personal assistant, friend and go between. It is pretty crazy that he was able to get that much money without it being noticed, but from what it seems, Ohtani likely just delegated anything not baseball related to this guy. It would be completely believable that he would be the middle man to work on housing, cars, you name it. So, having the access to the money is not completely unsurprising. It happens way more than anyone would like to admit. So many people around athletes take advantage of the situation and often leave them broke. They trust people who they likely shouldn't and they pay for it. I don't know Ohtani's upbringing, but part of the problem with the entire athlete / celebrity bit is many of them just don't come from money. So even if they don't go out and spend it, that money around them attracts people like this.

As far as the bookie, yeah, I'm not completely shocked. They 100% knew the interpreter had access to Ohtani's money and likely looked the other way.

 

[Voight]

Still think the interpreter is the fall guy.

Cris Carter said make sure you always have a fall guy.

 

[misterchainsaw]

Still think the interpreter is the fall guy.

Cris Carter said make sure you always have a fall guy.

He's literally on tape pretending to be Ohtani to banks.

The evidence in whole is fairly overwhelming that Ohtani is a victim here, but you do you I guess.

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

I'm not an expert on the psychology of gambling or anything, but I find it hard to buy this guy was placing hundreds of millions of dollars of bets without gambling on baseball, i.e., the only sport he actually had insider dirt on.