Morning Briefing: Ohtani's Former Interpreter Plans to Plead Guilty

Good morning, Mets fans!

Tim Arango and Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times reported on Wednesday that Shohei Ohtani‘s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, is in negotiations to plead guilty to federal crimes in connection to the theft of Ohtani’s money.

Despite Mizuhara originally saying that Ohtani paid off his $4.5 million in debt, which was accrued by illegally betting on sports with a bookie in California, Ohtani and his lawyers countered, saying that Ohtani had no knowledge of the situation and that the interpreter stole the money from the Japanese superstar.

Along with that, sources told the New York Times that the former interpreter may have stolen more than the original $4.5 million, changing Ohtani’s bank notification settings to help him do so.

While the conflicting narratives originally left a lot of grey area, a guilty plea along with admission of many key parts to the investigation from Mizuhara, would make the story much clearer.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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