Otani Shohei said he never bet on sports, steal money through translators, or lie

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani said Monday that he never bet on sports and that translator Ippei Mizuhara stole his money and lied about it.

Ohtani held a news conference at Dodger Stadium five days after Suwon was fired by the Dodgers after the Los Angeles Times and ESPN reported that Suwon was allegedly tied to an illegal bookmaker and owed well over $1 million.

“I’m very saddened and shocked that someone I trusted would do something like this,” said the Japanese baseball star, who sat next to the team’s performance operations manager Will Ireton, who acted as an interpreter.

Ohtani spoke for nearly 12 minutes, referring to a document in front of him. He didn’t answer the question.

“Ippei has been stealing funds from my account and lying about it,” Ohtani said. “I have never placed a bet on a sporting event or knowingly sent money to a bookmaker.”

A two-time MVP, Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels in December to sign a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers.

“I have never placed a bet on baseball or any other sport, nor have I ever asked anyone to do so on my behalf, nor have I ever placed a bet on a sport through a bookmaker. I have never been asked to assist others in paying for bets ,” Ohtani said.

The IRS has confirmed that Suwon and alleged illegal bookmaker Matthew Bowyer are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles office.

On March 19, Suwon told ESPN that Ohtani paid off his gambling debts at the request of a translator. The bets involved international football, NBA, NFL and college football. Major League Baseball rules prohibit players and team employees from placing bets — even legal baseball bets — as well as bets on other sports through illegal or overseas bookmakers.

Suwon changed his story the next day, claiming Dae-gu knew nothing about the gambling debt and had not transferred any funds to the bookmaker, ESPN said.

“All of this is a complete lie,” Ohtani said. “Yiping obviously basically didn’t tell me about the media inquiries. So Yiping kept telling everyone around him that he had been communicating with me about it with the media and my team, but that wasn’t the case.”

Ohtani said he first became aware of Suwon’s gambling problem during a team meeting after last Wednesday’s game against San Diego in Seoul, South Korea.