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A new audio has been released revealing Ippei Mizuhara<\/strong><\/a> impersonating LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The former interpreter for the baseball player was fired back in March 2024<\/a> after being found allegedly defrauding the 30-year-old pitcher.<\/p>\n Federal prosecutors released a four-minute audio recording showing Ippei<\/strong> impersonating Shohei<\/strong> in a call to a bank to push through a wire transfer.<\/p>\n Keep reading to find out more\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The audio was mentioned in a court filing where the prosecutors recommended a five-year sentence and restitution, per The Athletic<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n U.S. attorney Jeff Mitchell<\/strong> says the audio was obtained from a bank and filed to backup the prosecutors claims that Ippei<\/strong> had repeatedly called the bank for wire transfers, and reportedly even had routed Shohei<\/strong>\u2018s account info to his own phone and email.<\/p>\n In the audio recording, the bank agent asks who they\u2019re speaking to, to which Ippei<\/strong> says, \u201cShohei Ohtani<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n The agent then goes through a two-factor authentication, asking Ippei<\/strong> to recited a six digit number sent by text message, before asking about details of the transaction.<\/p>\n \u201cNow recently, we\u2019ve come across a trend of fraud and scams, so we have been monitoring the online transactions closely to make sure our clients are not the victim of either,\u201d the agent says. \u201cWhat is the reason for this transaction?\u201d<\/p>\n Ippei<\/strong> says it\u2019s for a car loan, and is asked his relationship to the payee (\u201cHe\u2019s my friend\u201d) and asked if they\u2019ve met (\u201cYes, many times\u201d). <\/p>\n The former interpreter has plead guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return after stealing nearly $17 million from Shohei<\/strong>, and he\u2019s scheduled to be sentenced February 6th.<\/p>\n The restitution prosecutors have asked for is nearly $17 million to Shohei <\/strong>and $1.1 million to the IRS, but noted in their filing that Ippei<\/strong> is unable to pay back the baseball star.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if defendant is addicted to gambling, it cannot fully explain defendant\u2019s conduct because defendant used the stolen funds for numerous personal expenses that had nothing to do with gambling,\u201d US attorney Jeff Mitchell<\/strong> wrote in the court filing. \u201cUltimately, the government submits, the motivating factor behind defendant\u2019s crimes was not a gambling addiction but rather greed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHis years-long theft of funds from Mr. Ohtani<\/strong> and the myriad lies he told to Mr. Ohtani<\/strong>\u2019s agents and financial advisors to cover up his theft represent a calculated betrayal of the very person he was hired to help,\u201d he continued. <\/p>\n As part of his plea agreement from May 2024, there is a possibility Ippei Mizuhara <\/strong>could be deported to Japan where he was born.<\/p>\n Recently, Shohei<\/strong> announced a donation<\/a> to firefighters and fire relief amid the Los Angeles fires.<\/p>\n If you recall, Shohei Ohtani<\/strong> signed a massive 10-year, $700 million deal <\/a>with the LA Dodgers nack in December 2023!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n