"You should be checking your junk" - Former MLB catcher believes Shohei Ohtani should be more aware of his finances amid betting saga
Shohei Ohtani's betting scandal is back in the news and is only getting worse. According to the latest findings, Ippei Mizuhara manipulated Ohtani's bank account so that the Dodgers star wouldn't receive any confirmations or alerts on his mobile.
The federal prosecutor alleges that Mizuhara linked his mobile number and an anonymous email address that belonged to him with Ohtani's bank account. On several occasions, Mizuhara was reportedly recorded on calls where he fraudulently pretended to be the player himself and authorized wire transfers.
The Foul Territory podcast recently had a segment where they discussed these findings. Former MLB catcher A.J. Pierzynski suggested that smartphones have all the facilities and thus, everyone should check their finances once a week.
"In today's world, with the way everything is on this little device right here. Like literally it's on this device right here, you should be checking your junk," Pierzynski said. "We definitely need to check his junk. Once a week, you should just go, all right, let's see. Just let me see. You don't have to check it every day."
Account of all bets placed by Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter
According to the 37-page complaint and allegations report, Ippei Mizuhara has stolen $16 million from Shohei Ohtani's bank account. He used it to settle his debts with Orange County bookmaker Matthew Bowyer, with the first wire transfer made in 2021.
Prosecutors claimed Mizuhara started placing bets with Bowyer in September 2021 and there were almost 19,000 bets placed between December 2021 and January 2024.
The average wager size was reportedly $12,800 and the total winnings came to about $142.2 million. However, Mizuhara's losses totaled $182.9 million, resulting in a net loss of $40.7 million.
On average, Mizuhara is said to have placed 25 bets for $320,000 per day. The winnings from the bets were made in his own bank account.
Other than using Shohei Ohtani's account to settle his debts, Mizuhara also used it for online shopping, according to the complaint report. He splurged $325K on eBay for online shopping. Furthermore, he intended to collect over 1,000 baseball collectibles and wanted to resell them later.
The charges against Mizuhara are serious and carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison and/or a maximum fine of $1 million if proven guilty. However, per the New York Times, he is negotiating a guilty plea, but nothing's been confirmed yet.