Published by
Independent.co.uk
Independent.co.uk
The former interpreter for Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani was sentenced on Thursday to nearly five years in federal prison and ordered to pay $1 million in back taxes, after pleading guilty last year to stealing nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger. Prosecutors accused Ippei Mizuhara, 40, who moved to the U.S. in 2018 with Ohtani and served as a close confidante and translator, of a multi-layered set of crimes involving the Dodgers star’s money. “Mr. Ohtani is a victim in this case,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally said outside the courthouse in Santa Ana, Californ…