A new piece of evidence has come to light after the Dodgers star was deceived by his interpreter, who stole nearly $20 million.

The former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, who pleaded guilty last year to bank fraud and falsifying tax returns, was caught on tape pretending to be Los Angeles Dodgers superstar in a call with a

Ippei Mizuhara, the former translator for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, could well be headed to jail for a lengthy period of time in the

The former interpreter for MLB star Shohei Ohtani impersonated the Los Angeles Dodgers player numerous times to defraud him, according to federal prosecutors.

While strong teammates now on the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts were once bitter rivals in the World Baseball Classic.

Federal prosecutors on Thursday disclosed a nearly four-minute audio recording which they said showed Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter convicted of defrauding Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, attempting to push through a $200,000 wire transfer from one of the player’s accounts.

Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty in May 2024 to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return after defrauding the 30-year-old Dodgers superstar of more than $16 million over the span of nearly three years between 2021 and 2024.

Ohtani once eschewed the Dodgers for the Angels, and got stuck in a six-year playoff drought. The Dodgers’ new Japanese rookie phenom Sasaki made a different call.

Mizuhara allegedly had already obtained access to Ohtani's bank accounts and changed security credentials to give himself entry. The person on the tape tells the bank employee that he is Shohei Ohtani, then provides a phone number to the bank for authorization -- a number that prosecutors say belonged to Mizuhara.

Roki Sasaki announced he would be signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Just a few days later, he was being greeted by LeBron James at a Los Angeles

An audio recording showing Ippei Mizuhara, the ex-interpreter of Shohei Ohtani, impersonating the Dodgers' star to push through a wire transfer was disclosed by federal prosecutors.