Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, lost money from betting against Fresno State as part of his sports betting scandal.
Federal prosecutors allege in an affidavit that Mizuhara stole $16 million from Ohtani. The affidavit was released on Thursday.
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The backstory: Mizuhara was charged with bank fraud for stealing over $16 million from Ohtani’s bank account to support his sports betting.
- He allegedly stole money from Ohtani to pay off an illegal bookie.
- Mizuhara began illegally gambling in September 2021, but within a few months he started to lose substantial sums of money.
- In total, Mizuhara won over $142 million in his sports betting venture, but his gambling addiction led him to lose over $182 million.
- He placed an average of 25 bets daily, averaging $320,000 every day.
Betting against the Bulldogs: According to the affidavit, on Sep. 24, 2021, Mizuhara texted the bookmaker “I took UCLA but they lost outright!!!”
- That message was referring to Fresno State’s dramatic win on the road against UCLA just a week earlier on Sep. 18, 2021.
- Then quarterback Jake Haener led the Bulldogs to a remarkable comeback win against the Bruins.
- While Haener and the Bulldogs won, Mizuhara ended up losing that night.
