Shohei Ohtani News: Ex-interpreter Ippei Mizuhara surrenders in alleged $16,000,000 embezzlement case, expected to appear in court

The ongoing saga between Shohei Ohtani and his ex-interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has been one of the most discussed and important stories in the MLB. Yet another key chapter of this story has unfolded as the former translator has reportedly surrendered himself to authorities and is now in federal custody.

"Ippei Mizuhara surrendered to law enforcement this morning and is in federal custody. He is scheduled to appear in L.A. court at 1 p.m. PT. The expectation, according to what I was told yesterday, is that he will be let out on bond at that point." - @Alden_Gonzalez

According to MLB insider Alden Gonzalez, Ippei Mizuhara is set to appear in court today in Los Angeles. Although there has been no resolution to the court appearance, Gonzalez believes that Mizuhara will be released on bail. It is a major update for the ex-interpreter accused of stealing a whopping $16,000,000 from Shohei Ohtani's bank accounts.

Following an investigation, Mizuhara has been charged by authorities with felony bank fraud. If convicted, the ex-Dodgers interpreter could face a maximum of 30 years in prison. According to the New York Times, Mizuhara is reportedly in negotiations over a potential guilty plea deal. If a plea deal is agreed to, it will likely see any potential prison sentence shortened.

After a lengthy investigation, the Department of Justice revealed that not only is Mizuhara being accused of stealing $16,000,000 from Shohei Ohtani to cover his gambling debts, but also bought nearly 1,000 baseball cards. These cards had a reported value of $350,000.

Alleged leaked text messages from Ippei Mizuhara seemingly displayed a confession

As part of the ongoing investigation, several documents and alleged conversations between Shohei Ohtani's ex-interpreter and an anonymous bookmaker were released. In these documents, there were a number of alleged messages sent back and forth between the two following words of the scandal going public.

"A seeming confession from Ippei Mizuhara, via text to a bookmaker, on the day @TishaESPN's story ran." - @JeffPassan

In some of these messages, it appeared that Mizuhara admitted to the anonymous bookmaker that he did steal money from the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar. If these messages are true, then Mizuhara indeed understood what he was doing, and it could hurt him in any potential trial.