Sports Ohtani Saga ⚾️

US twitter.

Majestic said:

US twitter.

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Ok. That makes sense. A lot of Americans are mired in conspiracy theories especially those on Twitter where alternative facts reign supreme.

Ippei Mizuhara has pleaded guilty to two charges of bank fraud. He was accused of stealing nearly USD17 million from one of Ohtani's accounts to cover personal expenses and gambling debts. Mizuhara admitted that using Ohtani's money was the only solution he could think of to pay off his gambling debt. He is scheduled to be sentenced on 25 October in a court in Santa Ana, California.

Approximately $16.5 million of the amount misappropriated was used to pay gambling debts and Mizuhara repeatedly impersonated Ohtani in phone calls to the bank to facilitate his crimes, the Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said. The total also included $325,000 taken from the account between January and March to buy baseball cards featuring Ohtani and other players to resell them in the future, the office said. As for the second charge, the former interpreter also pleaded guilty to submitting a false tax return for 2022, knowing the income he received that year far exceeded the amount he reported. Admitting to the charge, Mizuhara said he "did not report that money" on his taxes.

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Ohtani stated that the investigation's completion and his full admission of guilt have brought him and his family an important closure. Reflecting on the scandal, which emerged suddenly in March and embroiled him in rumours and suspicion, Ohtani described it as challenging. After six years with the Los Angeles Angels starting in 2018, he began playing for the Dodgers this season. Ohtani expressed his desire to close this chapter and move forward, pledging to contribute further to Dodger victories.

The Shohei Ohtani Effect: whatever he touches turns to gold, not only on the field.

In the US, viewership numbers during MLB playoffs were skyrocketing:



Last March, it was reported that Dodgers ticket prices were soaring, both home and away:




Even in Japan, the most unlikely products endorsed by Ohtani get unprecedented boosts:

A small ironware maker in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, has seen a surge in global orders after a social media post by baseball star Shohei Ohtani. The company, Oitomi Inc., produces traditional nambu tekki iron kettles in Ohtani's hometown. When Ohtani shared photos of an iron kettle and a "thank you" message on his Instagram account on 9 May, it caught the attention of Kaito Kikuchi, the owner of Oitomi. The kettle was a gift for Ohtani, who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kikuchi was overwhelmed by the unexpected publicity and the subsequent influx of orders. He initially thought it was a prank.

The photos showcased the company's Miyabi one-litre iron kettle, which costs ¥24,200 and is blue, similar to that of the Dodgers' uniform. The kettle has an octagonal body, which symbolizes gradual prosperity, and the lid's knob is decorated with a chrysanthemum shape. The kettle is reportedly popular as a symbol of luck. Following Ohtani's post, the company was inundated with orders and inquiries from Japan and overseas. The five Miyabi kettles in stock quickly sold out, and Oitomi's online shop was accessed over 300,000 times three days after the Instagram post. The kettle producer's firm had recorded about 3,000 hits on a busy day. Customers placing new orders now face wait times of about a year.

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The "Ohtani effect" was epitomized by a samurai helmet made by Marutake Sangyo Co., based in Satsuma -Sendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. The helmet made headlines when Ohtani wore it during a home run celebration when he was playing for the Los Angeles Angels. They became popular as gifts sent to people who donated to a local government under the Furusato Nozei donation system. In fiscal 2023 alone, the Satsuma-Sendai government collected a total of ¥29.15 million from 29 donations.

I love Ohtani. I wonder who would be the better player though, Bryce Harper, or Ohtani?

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is seeking the return of $325,000 worth of baseball cards, which he alleges were fraudulently purchased using his money by his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani, is accused of unauthorized access to Ohtani's bank account and using the funds to purchase the baseball cards from online resellers like eBay and Whatnot. Ohtani is now taking legal action to recover the stolen cards and seeks their return from Mizuhara.

Mizuhara pleaded guilty in June to spending millions from Ohtani's Arizona bank account to cover his growing gambling bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker, as well as his medical bills and the $325,000 worth of baseball cards. Mizuhara will be sentenced in January after pleading guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. These crimes carry a potential sentence of more than 30 years in federal prison. He could also be on the hook for restitution to Ohtani, which could total nearly $17m and more than $1m to the IRS. And as a legal permanent resident with a green card, he might be deported to Japan.

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Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball star Shohei Ohtani, has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for a fraud and gambling scheme. He was ordered to pay back nearly $17m that he'd stolen from Ohtani and another $1m to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in taxes.