"Ohtani was right there with him" - Disgraced former NBA referee claims $700 million Dodgers star's involvement in Ippei Mizuhara's betting scandal

LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has been in the headlines ever since his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara's gambling scandal came to light during the team's Seoul tour in March.

Multi-million dollar transactions were made from Ohtani's account by Mizuhara to his bookie, which, according to the player's legal team, weren't initiated by the three-time All-Star DH.

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy is the latest to give his opinion on this matter. Donaghy, who was arrested after betting on and controlling the point spread in games he officiated in the early 2000s, believes Ohtani, who signed a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers in December, was involved in the scandal and Mizuhara was made a scapegoat.

"You look at that guy and what he’s done for baseball globally, and the fans that he’s attracted around the world. The last thing they want is for him to be somebody that was involved in betting on his own games and maybe doing things that he wasn’t supposed to do," Donaghy said on 'Hot Mic with Hutton And Withrow.'

Donaghy continued:

"I think that they were very smart to get that under the rug as quickly as possible and say that he had nothing to do with it and basically have this other guy take the fall for everything. You look at the amount of bets that he was placing, obviously he had some type of addiction, so it's not like he could just turn it off when it comes time (for) baseball season.

"There’s no doubt in my mind that he not only bet on baseball, he bet on Ohtani’s games, and I think Ohtani was right there with him knowing what he was doing."

In 2007, an FBI investigation alleged that Donaghy bet on games he officiated in his final two years in the league. He later confessed that he did indeed bet on games he officiated between 2003 and 2007.

He resigned from the league and pleaded guilty to two federal charges. In 2008, he was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.

Coming back to Mizuhara, the Japanese translator has pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud after allegedly stealing $17 million from Ohtani to pay off his gambling debts.

There is no evidence of Ohtani's involvement.

Ippei Mizuhara pleads 'not guilty' as a formality ahead of plea deal with federal prosecutors

Ippei Mizuhara, who earlier this month pleaded guilty, has now pleaded 'not guilty' for bank and tax fraud on Tuesday as a formality ahead of his plea deal.

During Mizuhara's arraignment in Los Angeles's federal court, United States Magistrate Judge P. Rosenbluth asked the ex-interpreter to enter a plea. The 'not-guilty' plea was an expected step in the case.

According to the 39-year-old's plea deal, he has to pay Ohtani restitution, which is nearly $17 million. Apart from that, he has to pay $1 million to the IRS. He might have to serve a maximum of 30 years for the bank fraud charges against him and another maximum of three years in federal prison for the false tax return charges.