OT: Ohtani's Interpreter fired, used Ohtani's money to pay gambling debts.

[Optms]

How in the actual **** do you think you can get away with skimming $4.5 MILLION!?

Be Ohtani's friend.

I think I tend to believe the friend's initial account but then Ohtani's advisors probably got wind of it and then pointed out how bad it would look for Ohtani that money was coming from Ohtani's personal account.

More like Ohtani was the one gambling here. And his team decided to make his friend/interpreter the fall guy.

That sounds way more logical than his friend having access to Ohtani's account in the first place, or his friend having a massive gambling debt in the millions with his income. Or the fact that the story changed half way through. Cap. Ohtani gambled. Decided to make his friend the fall guy because he would outwardly be banned from the game considering the league's stance.

MLB will also desperately try sweep this under the rug as fast as possible considering the cash cow Ohtani is. They need him more than he needs them.

[WarriorGM]

How in the actual **** do you think you can get away with skimming $4.5 MILLION!?

Be Ohtani's friend.

I think I tend to believe the friend's initial account but then Ohtani's advisors probably got wind of it and then pointed out how bad it would look for Ohtani that money was coming from Ohtani's personal account.

More like Ohtani was the one gambling here. And his team decided to make his friend/interpreter the fall guy.

That sounds way more logical than his friend having access to Ohtani's account in the first place, or his friend having a massive gambling addiction. Or the fact that the story changed half way through. Cap. Ohtani gambled. Decided to make his friend the fall guy because he would outwardly be banned from the game considering the league's stance.

MLB will also desperately try sweep this under the rug as fast as possible considering the cash cow Ohtani is.

The friend would have to agree to be the fall guy which he seems to have done if so. That does make the sudden about face from Ohtani accusing his friend of actually stealing the funds more dangerous though because it would give the friend more incentive to balk. None of the scenarios make perfect sense but this scenario would appear to be higher risk for Ohtani than just letting his friend claim responsibility for gambling.

[azcatz11]

So if it was found that Ohtani bet on baseball will he be banned from the league like Pete Rose?

If that's actually the case, you'd think there's a better chance of MLB making the interpreter "disappear" than banning Ohtani.

Which is why the conspiracy falls flat.

People like to go against the most obvious thing, but the world (especially Americans) love conspiracies. Ohtani would've basically needed to be a MJ-level degenerate gambler risking almost a billion dollars he has coming in from his contract + sponsors just to get off some bets.

Not impossible, but also complete opposite of what we've seen from his personality.

NFL players get about a two game ban for non-NFL bets in facilities, I think a year if its NFL and not on your team.

Also Pete Rose bet on baseball. At most, what Ohtani would be liable for would be covering for Ippei having a gambling issue and betraying his trust, which would be a hilariously silly reason to give someone the Pete Rose treatment for.

Ippei being the "fall guy" is just a cute story until more comes out.

We don't know anything about his personality. This is a guy who wouldn't tell anyone the name of his dog lol.

If anything, your premise is the conspiracy. The money came from his bank account.

[Optms]

Be Ohtani's friend.

I think I tend to believe the friend's initial account but then Ohtani's advisors probably got wind of it and then pointed out how bad it would look for Ohtani that money was coming from Ohtani's personal account.

More like Ohtani was the one gambling here. And his team decided to make his friend/interpreter the fall guy.

That sounds way more logical than his friend having access to Ohtani's account in the first place, or his friend having a massive gambling addiction. Or the fact that the story changed half way through. Cap. Ohtani gambled. Decided to make his friend the fall guy because he would outwardly be banned from the game considering the league's stance.

MLB will also desperately try sweep this under the rug as fast as possible considering the cash cow Ohtani is.

The friend would have to agree to be the fall guy which he seems to have done if so. That does make the sudden about face from Ohtani accusing his friend of actually stealing the funds more dangerous though because it would give the friend more incentive to balk. None of the scenarios make perfect sense but this scenario would appear to be higher risk for Ohtani than just letting his friend claim responsibility for gambling.

So considering how much pull Ohtani has, I'm sure his friend will be taken care of and face no real consequences outside of being fired. If he really is the fall guy, Ohtani won't really go after him and will give him the best lawyers money can buy to ward off the feds. He's good.

The stolen money accusation is all show. To make Ohtani look like he had zero connection intentionally wiring money to illegal gambling agencies, unlike the initial story from HIS camp. But even the stolen money angle doesn't make sense. Because like some others have said, you don't just steal 4+ million dollars. That and the story change sequence is hilarious. How do you go from "I'm helping a friend pay off his gambling debt" to "he stole all the money, we had no idea"

So much of what's come out doesn't make any sense really. The only explanation I see is Ohtani did the gambling himself. Which would tie all these loose ends together.

[adubmac]

What kind of a bookie would give an interpreter a $4.5M line of credit?!?

[slick_watts]

shohei ohtani is 29 years old and has been a wealthy baseball star for almost his entire adult life. i'm not an ohtani expert, but i don't remember him ever being involved in gambling or even in other sports, period.

i suppose it's possible he gambled this money away and made the interpreter take the fall, but that seems like a dumb thing to do when you know there will be an investigation.

of course this day and age every story gets a conspiracy attached to it.

[wco81]

They're under no obligation to talk to MLB investigators.

No nothing will happen, though you would think the friend could be criminally liable to theft and wire fraud.

Is it up to Ohtani whether the friend is prosecuted or can some prosecutor subpoena him and make him testify under oath?

[Michael Bradley]

The issue here is not the gambling itself, but where it took place and who the person receiving the money is. Sports betting is illegal in California, and there is a wire transfer(s) from Ohtani's account to an illegal bookmaker. MLB would have to do something in that scenario because it would not only be illegal, but violate their CBA (you can legally bet on non-baseball sports if you're an MLB player from what I've read, but obviously illegal betting in any sport would fall under a different umbrella). He's in no danger of being banned like Pete Rose, unless the bets were baseball and it's proven he was the one making them, but there would have to be a suspension in that scenario. That's why the story changed from Ohtani helping out his friend to theft, because for Ohtani to avoid any sort of suspension from MLB, he can't have any involvement in the wire being sent to an illegal bookmaker. So if the interpreter is willing to take the fall and say he committed fraud/theft/etc, then he's likely serving jail time for Ohtani, but it would absolve Ohtani of any wrongdoing.

[CIN-C-STAR]

More like Ohtani was the one gambling here. And his team decided to make his friend/interpreter the fall guy.

That sounds way more logical than his friend having access to Ohtani's account in the first place, or his friend having a massive gambling addiction. Or the fact that the story changed half way through. Cap. Ohtani gambled. Decided to make his friend the fall guy because he would outwardly be banned from the game considering the league's stance.

MLB will also desperately try sweep this under the rug as fast as possible considering the cash cow Ohtani is.

The friend would have to agree to be the fall guy which he seems to have done if so. That does make the sudden about face from Ohtani accusing his friend of actually stealing the funds more dangerous though because it would give the friend more incentive to balk. None of the scenarios make perfect sense but this scenario would appear to be higher risk for Ohtani than just letting his friend claim responsibility for gambling.

So considering how much pull Ohtani has, I'm sure his friend will be taken care of and face no real consequences outside of being fired. If he really is the fall guy, Ohtani won't really go after him and will give him the best lawyers money can buy to ward off the feds. He's good.

The stolen money accusation is all show. To make Ohtani look like he had zero connection intentionally wiring money to illegal gambling agencies, unlike the initial story from HIS camp. But even the stolen money angle doesn't make sense. Because like some others have said, you don't just steal 4+ million dollars. That and the story change sequence is hilarious. How do you go from "I'm helping a friend pay off his gambling debt" to "he stole all the money, we had no idea"

So much of what's come out doesn't make any sense really. The only explanation I see is Ohtani did the gambling himself. Which would tie all these loose ends together.

ESPN has reported that the FBI, Calif. Dept. of Investigations, Los Angeles PD and whatever the county police dept is called have all told them they have no investigation going on about this.
As far as we know the claim of handing the matter over to authorities for a theft investigation was just a statement to make a big show of his innocence, and might have not even happened.

[CIN-C-STAR]

The issue here is not the gambling itself, but where it took place and who the person receiving the money is. Sports betting is illegal in California, and there is a wire transfer(s) from Ohtani's account to an illegal bookmaker. MLB would have to do something in that scenario because it would not only be illegal, but violate their CBA (you can legally bet on non-baseball sports if you're an MLB player from what I've read, but obviously illegal betting in any sport would fall under a different umbrella). He's in no danger of being banned like Pete Rose, unless the bets were baseball and it's proven he was the one making them, but there would have to be a suspension in that scenario. That's why the story changed from Ohtani helping out his friend to theft, because for Ohtani to avoid any sort of suspension from MLB, he can't have any involvement in the wire being sent to an illegal bookmaker. So if the interpreter is willing to take the fall and say he committed fraud/theft/etc, then he's likely serving jail time for Ohtani, but it would absolve Ohtani of any wrongdoing.

Almost for sure he will avoid jail time in that scenario because Ohtani doesn't have to cooperate with the investigation.
He could cooperate right up until the moment of trial then say he has forgiven his friend and doesn't want to see him go to prison, and make himself look like a gracious victim.

[Optms]

shohei ohtani is 29 years old and has been a wealthy baseball star for almost his entire adult life. i'm not an ohtani expert, but i don't remember him ever being involved in gambling or even in other sports, period.

i suppose it's possible he gambled this money away and made the interpreter take the fall, but that seems like a dumb thing to do when you know there will be an investigation.

of course this day and age every story gets a conspiracy attached to it.

Firstly, you don't need to have a prior history regarding anything to be caught doing something wrong, or in this case illegal. On the contrary, maybe he does have a massive gambling addiction and its only now starting to come out.

Secondly, the reason why people suspect different is because the stories coming out of his camp have been inconsistent. And frankly don't make sense.

If his friend, say, had a 100k debt in which he "stole" from Ohtani's account that he somehow had access too. That would make more sense. And if the camp didn't report two contradicting stories, it would also make sense. But what we are told doesnt add up here. As for "conspiracy theories" remark. You can't simply digest everything that is told to you and run with it like it's fact. Because lies are told constantly by top figures all the time, every week. It doesnt mean that everything we're told are lies but if the stories they are giving us don't add up, it will be questioned.

[wco81]

If it happened in LA or any SoCal county, which prosecutor is going to investigate a case of illegal better where potentially the biggest Dodger star could be implicated?


So a Northern Calif. or San Diego DA would have to prosecute it.

Seriously, who would have jurisdiction to enforce anti-gambling laws, the state AG?

He or she would need votes the next time the office is up for election.

So it would have to probably be a federal investigation. Maybe possible money laundering. I think the bookie was under some investigation and that is how they discovered the wired money?

[shi-woo]

Even if he was gambling, as long as it wasn't on MLB games, who cares? All the leagues are in bed with books at this point.

Also, let's stop with the Pete Rose stuff. Rose bet on baseball games and happened in 1989. Whoever made these bets apparently didn't bet on baseball and we're in 2024.

Yeah, but it's still baseball. A sport that cares about tradition and integrity of the game more than the other pro leagues, to it's own detriment.

Shoeless Joe Jackson is name only remembered for one reason in baseball, and is a story every baseball fan knows.

Pete Rose obviously, and he's still blackballed and ostracized from the league.

We all know about the baseball PED scandal, and how long that went on for, even after we all stopped caring.

Baseball is game were people still take bat flips personal and think it's bad for the game. I doubt anyone really cares if he was better if it wasn't betting on baseball, but more just interested in how the old school mentality of baseball will come into play for the leagues biggest sta if he did do something illegal.

It's a unique xperience in a game as old fashioned as baseball.

[ItsDanger]

Unless the interpreter was more wealthy than thought, the line maker wouldn't give that much credit ($4.5M?). So, that leaves 1 other option.

[Dr Aki]

[ChipotleWest]

They should embrace that Ohtani was gambling, it just makes him more American.

[Lalouie]

Everything about this story sounds unbelievable. I guess we'll find out more soon enough.

Fall guy. Nuff said

this ain't yakuza, boss
he ain't cutting his finger for nobody

...........wait a minute. maybe it is..................nevermind

[basketballRob]

They should embrace that Ohtani was gambling, it just makes him more American.

If he gambled on his team, he should get a lifetime ban just like Pete Rose did. Rose was the most popular name in baseball when he got banned.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

[JDR720]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39808874/ohtani-adamant-never-betting-sports-says-interpreter-stole-money

As expected, he denies everything.

[SweaterBae]

Oh now I get the Shohei betting the under reference in the Jontay Porter thread.