Shohei Ohtani gambling controversy: Ippei Mizuhara to take plea deal, potentially reducing sentence and fine

Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, will plead guilty to one count of bank fraud and false tax returns. The arraignment is reportedly set to take place on May 14, when Mizuhara will record his plea in front of the court.

According to Dan Clark, the plea will help him reduce his jail time from 33 years to just 3-5 years. Moreover, the fine of $1.25 million will also be reduced. However, he still needs to pay Ohtani $16.98 million in restoration.

“The extent of this defendant’s deception and theft is massive,” United States attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “He took advantage of his position of trust to take advantage of Mr Ohtani and fuel a dangerous gambling habit.” [via The Guardian].

Not long ago, Ippei Mizuhara and Shohei Ohtani's names were brought up in a federal investigation into an illegal bookmaker from Orange County. Ohtani's lawyers blamed his former interpreter for "massive theft," which was followed by the Dodgers firing him the next day.

Over time, rumors and speculations ran wild. The federal investigation filed its findings, during which it was claimed that Ippei manipulated Ohtani's bank accounts and stole $16 million from them to settle his gambling debts. This cleared Ohtani's name from any alleged activity of his in gambling.

Even Ohtani held a press conference where he clarified the rumors and mentioned that his former interpreter was "telling lies."

Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara's betting scandal is to be covered by prominent TV house

When things initially unfolded, it took the baseball world by storm as Shohei Ohtani, who is revered to be the new face of the league, was facing daunting allegations of his involvement in betting. Now that everything is getting clearer, especially after reports of Ippei Mizuhara taking a guilty plea, suggest the end of this saga.

Now, to immortalize and recap this saga, Lionsgate Television is preparing a scripted TV series that will take fans through this entire incident. Scott Delman and Albert Chen are leading this project, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“With a strong track record of creating daring, boundary-pushing series, Lionsgate Television is the perfect partner to bring this unbelievable story to the screen,” said Delman.

“In addition, Albert’s extensive sports journalism background will enable us to connect the dots to make sense of the startling turn of events we’ve seen play out on the world stage.”

“This is major league baseball’s biggest sports gambling scandal since Pete Rose — and at its center is its biggest star, one that MLB has hitched its wagon on,” Chen said. “We’ll get to the heart of the story — a story of trust, betrayal and the trappings of wealth and fame.”

This project has yet to land a streaming deal but it's expected to land a big one given the heightened curiosity among fans to go through the entire ordeal once again.