With the scandal tied to Shohei Ohtani deepening—and becoming murkier—Major League Baseball announced that it has launched a formal investigation into accusations involving gambling by the superstar's interpreter. A statement issued Friday says MLB has been "gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media," NBC News reports. The Los Angeles Dodgers player has not been accused of illegal betting. But at least $4.5 million of his money may have gone to cover Mizuhara's gambling debts. Such wire transfers violate federal law, per Yahoo Sports, and possibly MLB's rules.
It's not clear who else is investigating. Ohtani's representatives, who said he was the victim of a "massive theft," reported that they've turned the matter over to law enforcement agencies without saying which ones. ESPN reports that the FBI and the California Bureau of Investigation haven't taken the case. Los Angeles, Anaheim and Newport Beach police, as well as the Orange County Sheriff's Department, told NBC they don't know of any crime report filed by Ohtani in the places where he lives, works, or has a registered business. The region's US attorney's office wouldn't say. (More Shohei Ohtani stories.)
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