THAT WAS FAST

Shohei Ohtani’s Ex-Interpreter Already Negotiating Guilty Plea: Report

Ippei Mizuhara’s incredibly quick guilty plea—just three weeks after the investigation into his alleged misdeeds was opened—is likely to get him a more lenient sentence.

MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter is currently in talks to plead guilty in federal court after he was accused of pilfering millions from the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger’s bank account to cover illegal gambling debts, The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing several sources with knowledge of the negotiations. Ippei Mizuhara’s incredibly quick guilty plea—just three weeks after the investigation into his alleged misdeeds was opened—is likely to get him a more lenient sentence. In order to cut a deal, Mizuhara’s plea will also include his own admissions on a number of facts concerning the case, which remains murky after weeks of public speculation. The Times reported that authorities believe that Mizuhara was able to gain access to Ohtani’s bank account and change the alert settings to cover his tracks. Ohtani, for his part, has maintained that the interpreter stole more than $4.5 million and that he has never bet on baseball or any other sport.