Within the ongoing fraud trial of Ippei Mizuhara, the previous interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers famous person Shohei Ohtani, prosecutors throughout the sentencing part submitted an audio recording by which Mizuhara is alleged to have impersonated Ohtani in a name with a financial institution in an try to safe a $200,000 switch. Prosecutors submitted the audio as they push for a five-year jail sentence for Mizuhara, who’s already pleaded responsible to embezzling hundreds of thousands of {dollars} from Ohtani. 

The Related Press, which obtained the recording, studies: 

“Within the recording, a person is heard figuring out himself as Ohtani and saying that he tried to log into on-line banking nevertheless it wasn’t obtainable. He later confirms that the transaction quantity is $200,000.”

Right here is the audio recording from the courtroom submitting: 

Mizuhara, 40, pleaded responsible to financial institution and tax fraud prices in June of final yr. Mizuhara’s prices stemmed from the playing scandal by which he was accused of stealing virtually $17 million from Ohtani and utilizing it to position unlawful bets. 

Information of the fraud that entangled Ohtani broke again in March whereas the Dodgers have been opening the 2024 MLB season in South Korea, and within the ensuing weeks we realized that Ohtani was the sufferer. Mizuhara racked up tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in playing money owed to an unlawful bookmaker and was funneling the cash by means of casinos. He had been illicitly making withdrawals from Ohtani’s financial institution accounts, together with by impersonating Ohtani on the cellphone with the financial institution, and having had entry to all pertinent passwords and codes.

Mizuhara initially confronted a most sentence of 33 years in jail, 5 years of supervised launch and a fantastic of $1,250,000 along with offering restitution to Ohtani and the Inner Income Service.