Ippei Mizuhara arrived at his court appearance with shackles around his ankles at 2:22 PM PT. However, the chains were later removed as the hearing began.
During the proceedings, Mizuhara, donning a dark-colored suit, received the news that he would be released on a $25,000 bond. However, he must adhere to numerous conditions to avoid being held in custody, and one of them is refraining from any form of gambling.
Mizuhara has been required to participate in a gamblers addiction treatment program. In addition, among other stipulations, he must refrain from any form of communication with Shohei Ohtani.
His next court appearance is scheduled for May 9th.
Ippei Mizuhara, the individual who was recently charged with bank fraud, has voluntarily surrendered to authorities. Federal prosecutors confirmed that Mizuhara turned himself in on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after the charges were filed against him.
Shohei Ohtani’s previous interpreter will continue to be held in custody until Friday afternoon, when he is expected to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom.
Mizuhara is not expected to make a plea to the judge during the proceedings, as stated by the feds. The eligibility for release following the hearing is still uncertain.
Mizuhara faced a serious accusation on Thursday when the U.S. Department of Justice officials claimed that he had committed a felony. They alleged that he had stolen approximately $16 million from an Ohtani bank account in order to cover his extensive gambling debts.
According to the DOJ, Mizuhara also used a portion of Ohtani’s funds to purchase baseball cards valued at thousands of dollars.
During their investigation, the federal authorities stated that they did not find any evidence suggesting that Ohtani had knowledge of Mizuhara’s wrongdoings.
Mizuhara had already been dismissed by the Dodgers when the allegations surfaced late last month. Will Ireton has taken over in Mizuhara’s absence.
Ohtani, on the other hand, doesn’t appear to be greatly affected by the distraction. In fact, he has managed to accumulate three home runs and maintain an impressive batting average of .333 in just 11 games.
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