Shohei Ohtani went all-in against his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who the Dodgers two-way star claims stole $4.5 million from him in an effort to pay off gambling debts.

Shohei Ohtani, MLB's gambling accusations response needs to go much further

“Up until that team meeting,” Ohtani said, “I didn’t know that Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in debt. Ippei has been stealing money from my account, and has told lies.”

Ohtani went on to say he never approved any such payments, as summed up by FanSided MLB Insider Robert Murray.

Los Angeles Dodgers Star Shohei Ohtani Breaks Silence on Interpreter's Gambling Saga

“I never agreed to pay off the debt or make any payments to the bookmaker,” Ohtani added, adding that he never met or heard of Matthew Bowyer, who is the target of a federal investigation for running an illegal bookmaking operation in Southern California. 

Shohei Ohtani, ex-interpreter gambling situation 'doesn't smell right' - NBC Sports

While many questions remain from Ohtani’s statement, after which he took no questions from the media, at least one of those has been debunked. How could Mizuhara take that kind of money from Ohtani’s account without him or his financial team noticing? The answer to that is simpler than it seems.