"Lot of people owe Shohei Ohtani apology" - Justin Verlander's brother Ben comes to Dodgers star's support as ex-interpreter's audio gets leaked

The gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has just taken another turn. Though the translator was sentenced to jail, many in the baseball world were skeptical that Ohtani wasn't involved at all. However, a new audio has leaked that shows Mizuhara impersonating Ohtani with a bank.

The bank agent asks who they are speaking with, and Mizuhara responds that he is the LA Dodgers star. He then goes on to say he's having trouble accessing Ohtani's bank account.

Ben Verlander, the brother of Justin Verlander and a prominent MLB analyst, ripped fans who had ever doubted Ohtani's innocence in the wake of the leaked audio.

"A lot of people owe Shohei Ohtani an apology. Here is audio of his former translator, Ippei Mizuhara, pretending to be Shohei while on the phone with the bank," Verlander said.

Ohtani's translator was fired and eventually arrested at the beginning of the season. He was accused of bank fraud and of stealing millions and gambling them on tons of sports. He allegedly did not gamble on baseball, though.

Many fans believed that Mizuhara was just taking the fall for Ohtani so that a historically good baseball player didn't meet the same lifetime ban fate that Pete Rose got. That was proven false, and this new audio cements the fraud allegations even further.

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Shohei Ohtani's translator stole millions

For years, Shohei Ohtani's translator Ippei Mizuhara, who was once a close friend, stole money from the former Los Angeles Angels star. The translator allegedly had stolen money and bought $325,000 worth of baseball cards on eBay and other sites.

Shohei Ohtani's translator was fired in the spring (Imagn)

The translator eventually pleaded guilty in June to spending millions from Ohtani’s Arizona bank account. This was done to cover extreme gambling debts that Mizuhara had racked up with an illegal bookmaker. Aside from the cards, he also reportedly stole money for medical bills.

Mizuhara was by Ohtani's side for much of his MLB journey, but he was quickly removed once it became clear what he was doing behind Ohtani's back.