Plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB).Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani was charged with four years and nine months in prison after former exclusive translator Kazuhei Mizuhara stole nearly $17 million and supreme Suwon was prosecuted for felony bank fraud. Mizuhara's defense lawyer, G. Freeman, mentioned in a letter to a U.S. magistrate judge that Mizuhara said he was on call 24 hours a day and had little time off during his work for Otani.

Shohei Ohtani (right), Kazuhei Mizuhara (left)

According to ESPN, G. Freeman filed a letter to U.S. District Judge W. Holcomb that said that Mizuwon Ippei became addicted to gambling at the age of 18 and went to the casino four to five times a week, and that Mizuwon began playing online poker and sports gambling at the age of 22.

Suwon is called Otani working hours, and it feels like he's on call 24 hours a day, with little time off. "Usually when a Japanese baseball player comes to the U.S., they bring a lot of staff to handle all sorts of things, such as drivers, chefs, off-court translators, support staff, and so on, but I'm the only one Shohei brings in, so naturally I have to support him for most of those things," Mizuhara said. ”

According to prosecution documents, Angel's salary to Suwon was $85,000, which was raised to $250,000 in 2022. After Shohei Ohtani moved to the Dodgers in 2024, Suwon's annual salary increased to $500,000. The document also states that Ohtani also paid Mizuhara an additional salary and gave him a Porsche sedan.

Suwon Ilpyeong. (File photo, Associated Press)

In the letter, Mizuhara said that Shohei Ohtani would pay him $2,500 a month from October to January and between $125 and $130 a month from February to September. Mizuhara said that living near Otani's home in California, paying for his wife's travel to and from the United States and Japan, and renting an apartment when he traveled to Japan with Ohtani during the offseason made it difficult for him to make ends meet.

"All these additional expenses have caused me a huge burden, I live on a paycheck, and in some months I even have to borrow money from family and friends to make ends meet." Kazuhei Mizuhara wrote.

Suwon also spoke up for his wife, and she also gave Shohei Ohtani support, including cooking for her, taking care of Otani's dog, and helping Ohtani with his fingernails that were cracked from pitching, "Over the years, she has supported me and Shohei wholeheartedly and has never complained about it, she understands that my priority is to support Shohei as best I can." ”

In the letter, Mizuhara asked the judge to reduce the sentence and apologized to Otani, "I used to put my heart and soul into letting Shohei play his best on the court. I want to say that I'm really sorry for betraying the trust he placed in me. ”

Suwon Ilhei (left). (File photo, Associated Press)

During Shohei Ohtani's time with the Angels, Mizuwon's gambling behavior increased due to other players playing poker games in their hotel rooms. When Suwon was at a hotel in San Diego in 2021, he met Bowyer, the head of the group who runs an illegal gambling company, at a poker tournament. Suwon made about 19,000 bets with Bowyer in just two years, accumulating more than $40 million in debt.

In a separate filing, U.S. prosecutors argued that gambling addiction "does not fully explain the defendant's conduct" because defendant Mizuhara used the stolen funds for many personal expenses unrelated to gambling. "Ultimately, the government believes that the defendant's motive for the crime was not gambling addiction, but greed," the U.S. prosecution said. ”