Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, who got fired after being implicated in stealing millions from the baseball star, has been relying on a food delivery job to make ends meet.
Now that job is gone as well. ABC 7 in Los Angeles reported Saturday that Uber Eats has banned Ippei Mizuhara from his job as a delivery driver, as the result of his pending legal issues.
“Mizuhara has been an UberEats courier for a few years,” Uber Eats’ Gabriela Condarco-Quesada said (via ABC 7). “Given these recent charges, he no longer has access to the platform.”
The former translator pleaded guilty on Tuesday to stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani’s bank account in a scandal that shocked the MLB world and prompted a federal investigation into gambling violations.
Mizuhara had used his relationship with Ohtani to steal the money over a period of several years, and even impersonated the superstar to carry out his actions. Mizuhara placed around 19,000 bets between late 2021 and January, wagering up to $160,000 in a single bet.
Ohtani had no knowledge of the illegal activities.
“I want to emphasize this point: Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in April. “Mr. Mizuhara used and abused that position of trust in order to plunder Mr. Ohtani’s bank account to the tune of over $16 million.”
Mizuhara faces a maximum prison sentence of 33 years and a fine of $1,250,000. He will be sentenced Oct. 25.
[ABC7.com]
