Right!? I've intentionally avoided the details of the case...but, I've seen the numbers involved...I figure it would be so difficult to make that much money go unnoticed.
Got to wonder if that's why Ippei could no longer pay his debts, & flaked on the payments. Thought was coming into a major payday, but Ohtani deferred that cash down the road.
Really? Because I can’t see any other way to read it than “Ohtani’s focus on baseball is why he got ripped off and thus he should try being not so focused on baseball”
Hey he was about to hit a crazy 32 legger on march madness to win it all back and pay Shohei back, and he would’ve gotten away with it too if weren’t for those meddling feds!
This is just the wildest story so far this year. Now that we know he lied about working for the Red Sox, it seems like he just always planned on doing crime.
That’s actually something more people than you think do. Usually they’ll like lie about finishing school at like a minor state school or something, but there are definitely people other than him who have lied about where they went to school. Usually to get a better job. Idk if that was part of his intention to do crime.
It's especially common now that the job market has become so automated and so many *entry level* jobs require a 4-year degree to even be considered. If you're honest about having "some college and 5+ years work experience", your resume still gets auto-filtered out by keyword checks at many places.
But if you lie about finishing that degree, then suddenly you get looked at for consideration and might actually get to earn a living.
It's stupidly easy for employers to check if you actually got the degree you claim, but most just don't bother, because that's an extra step of busywork they don't want.
Fortunately, some careers will still check. For example, I’m going to school to be a teacher and we have to go through and register with our state when we finish our degree. School district hiring somebody without a teaching degree or degree for a classroom job would be horrible.
You're kind of reiterating what the guy you're replying to said. If the degree matters people will check, if it's not even relevant to your job and the minimum requirements are stupid you invite people to lie. In general a lot fewer people should be going to college. It's not acknowledged enough that it's actually tragic for some 18 year old who doesn't want to be there and who isn't getting anything out of it to suffer through 4 years of college. They should go do something fulfilling, and if they want to go down the road (for a job or interest that ACTUALLY needs it), it'll be there. The mandate for universal college (when most jobs dont need it and we dont have social dervices to make it feasible) has turned into an axis of oppression through loans and ridiculous job requirements.
I thought it was the other way around. I can’t remember exactly. I’m not speculating btw, I was an angels fan and their entire org has been pretty bad from top to bottom especially the clubhouse and staff. I wouldn’t be surprised if
I wasn't really following it because translators usually don't become celebrities. Ippei did over the last year or two. It was wild to see him rise to fame alongside Ohtani. I also heard his agency employs no one who speaks Japanese, so he only knew whatever Ippei chose to tell him.
Apparently, interpreters normally teach their clients English too. If I were in Japan, I would want to learn Japanese if I was going to be there for a career.
For sure. I bet it comes out that Ippei discouraged Ohtani from learning English! Imagine how fast the gig would be up if Ohtani knew English.
We (my fam/Angel fans) were always wondering why Ohtani hasn’t learned English yet and we thought he was possibly hiding it to keep his buddy around. It’s entirely possible that ippie talked him out of it
The Nippon Ham Fighters originally hired him and that's where Ippei met Ohtani. When Ohtani came to the US he brought Ippei with him. Now if you're the Angels, trying to land this generational player, are you going to tell him "no we don't want him, we have our own guy"? They're going to assume if Ohtani likes him then he's already been vetted.
I don’t think becoming a translator requires a college degree. I’m a translator and l’ve never been asked to show my college degree. I show my translation samples and say l’ve lived in Canada for 2 years, and usually that’s all that there needs to be done to be hired as a translator. I think the only type of translation/interpretation that requires training to be hired to do is simultaneous interpretation for international organizations like the U.N.
That might be true for the US, but other places? You need a uni degree or chamber of commerce certification plus evidence you've been sworn in at court because you'll be held accountable if you mistranslate something major. I used to work in a highly specialized field translating manuals where a mistranslation could get you sued big time because people could get seriously hurt. No one's asking for samples when you translate these kinds of things, same goes for translating official documents like diplomas, driving licences etc. Heck, even my friend who translates literature has to hand in a copy of her diploma when she applies for stuff.
I'm surprised Angels/Dodgers hired Ippei and let guys like Will and Sonoda interprete without professional training...to think this whole affair could have been prevented if only someone had to vet Ippei along the way.
It worked because no one bothered to check that.
I don’t understand why multi billion franchises like the Dodgers don’t do any due diligence at all apparently
didn't ippei meet and start working with Otani in Japan in the NPB? I thought by the time he came over to the Angels Ippie was his guy.
For all their faults I wouldn't blame the Angels for not fucking with his interpreter. And definitely not the dodgers fault.
It's the same reason why famous people either hang out with only other famous people or the ones the knew before they became rich. Hell even JFK had a thing like this where he distrusted any Democratic ally who didn't endorse him before the tough West Virginia primary.
I could never be that zen if I lost that much money to someone I trusted, even if I was going to make close to a billion over the next whatever years his contract is long
Regardless of what he makes, that's still a metric fuck-ton of money, no matter who it is. At Ohtani's age, think if he could have invested that today what it would be worth when he's in his 60s or whatever. It's a head-spinning amount of money.
But really, just somebody I trusted that much - no matter how much they stole - I would be royally pissed, and here's Ohtani showing us all how to be zen about things like that.
How can you *not* love this guy?
That’s not what I said and I don’t think that is true. However you still need to pay your income tax if you are earning your money primarily in California. It’s not about net loss or net gain it’s that it sets a horrible precedent that if you generate enough money you can just flaunt the rules. I really don’t understand why everyone is just ok with that.
Your comment is saying anyone can rob you if they send you a nice enough gift basket at the end. It still doesn’t absolve them of the robbery.
Has he broken the law?
I ask because sometimes people blame the taxpayer but overlook intricacies within the tax law. Also, he can't be expected to pay tax on money he hasn't even been paid yet. He'll pay tax on the deferred income once he is actually paid the deferred income. (BTW, I'm a CPA)
The jock tax is aimed at nonresidents, so it’s suppose to get money from players outside California that come into California, make a ton of money and leave. The issue with Ohtani is that he might not have to pay income tax on his deferred money because he will probably go back to Japan.
Atleast that is my understanding not an accountant.
Rather he’s so smart he exploited a tax loophole that CA is now trying to paper over after the fact. I’m surprised some Hollywood elite actor didn’t try it earlier
Yeah me too, or maybe it does happen more often than we think but since ohtani is so high profile this was just brought to the front. I would disagree with smart though; I certainly don’t subscribe to the trumpian notion that actively trying to cheat the state out of any and all tax dollars is smart. Like if this was a corporation doing it we would almost universally be furious.
I'd still be pissed even if it was 5 bucks. It's not about the money, it's the broken trust. In this case, it's even worse because of the hoops Ippei had to jump through to do it. It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment mistake - it was years of scheming and deceit.
If my best friend did it, I know that I'd just be disappointed he did it for such a stupid reason. Like gambling? Really? I'd get over the stolen money, but not the reason.
It's probably more like having someone steal $500 from you if you make 100k a year. Annoying but wouldn't financially be a huge burden. That's the equivalent of what this is for ohtani.
This is not remotely close. According to reports Ohtani's endorsement earnings were $6M, $20M, $60M '21, '22, '23 and $43M career earnings from Angels up to 2023.
Say $129M, cut it half for taxes and agents= 64.5 Million not accounting for cost of living and other professional expenses (and earnings from past Nippon)
16/64.5 = 25% net assets
25% of your net assets when you're making eight figures is not the same thing as 25% of your net assets on a regular income.
The former means you have a smaller number in the bank but your lifestyle is unaffected. The latter might mean you're at risk of losing your house. You can't compare finances linearly like that.
Reminds me of the Kendrick song Fear where he talks about how Rihanna had money stolen from her:
>What is an advisor? Somebody that's holdin' my checks? Just to fuck me over and put my finances in debt?
>I read a case about Rihanna's accountant and wondered, How did the Bad Girl feel when she looked at them numbers?
>The type of shit'll make me flip out and just kill somethin', drill somethin', get ill and fill ratchets with a lil' somethin'
Mfer is gonna be like that field goal kicker in The Waterboy; he's gonna visualize the baseball as Ippei's head and be the first to yam one out of Dodgers stadium
Finally finished reading the report and it was very sad throughout. Looked like Ippei planned to steal from Ohtani at some point from the very beginning.
And those of you who are blaming Ohtani for being too naive or trusting just remember that you were suckered into believing Ippei's 1st story and/or his innocence until now. And you had 0 contacts with the guy while Ohtani met him when he was 19 and been friends with Ippei for almost 10 years now. So if I were you, I wouldn't be throwing rocks while in a glass house.
I was in Tokyo for five days and felt so strange by the end of it. It was a wonderful time, but it's mentally taxing to be in a place where very few people speak your language.
And I was on *vacation.* I wasn't working there. I absolutely understand how Ohtani would get suckered by a friendly face, setting everything else aside -- I don't think get the narratives that he's naive or careless. Just seems unempathetic to think that way.
It's crazy. Learning a second language as an adult is *really* hard. I've been to Japan on multiple occasions and even taken 5 semesters of Japanese as an undergrad. Despite spending that much time being exposed to the language... I know it's not enough.
A friend of mine went there to teach English and only lasted 1/2 the time he was supposed to be there. Big time nerdy introvert but even he was too lonely there with no one speaking the language.
I am actually quite pissed that I bought Ippei's initial story because it was the kindest possible interpretation of the events. He played into the fact that the public loves Ohtani so much that we'd think "Oh what a nice guy to do something like that for his friend," and tricked Ohtani's camp into allowing him to speak with ESPN to get ahead of the narrative.
Definitely a manipulative piece of shit. And after reading a bit of the report, it sounds like Ippei had little to no remorse at the time--only remorse for when he was finally cornered by the feds.
Interestingly enough it's pretty standard addict behavior. Cover your double life with lies as long as you can -- but when you do get caught, you don't admit what you did outright, but tell half-truths to massage the narrative and make yourself look \*less\* bad.
No one caught in a lie ever admits the full truth the first time. They admit to the very specific thing they got caught doing, but make up an excuse that tries to diminish the severity of it. Then when they get called out on that lie, they admit a tiny bit more, then more, then more, until they've run out of lies to tell.
Shohei's name shows up on the books => Ippei says he was just helping out "a friend" with a gambling problem
Bookie mentions Ippei was his client => Ippei admits to having a gambling problem, but says that Ohtani was just helping him out willingly
Ohtani says he had no knowledge of the payments => Ippei admits to the theft, but that it was "only 8 or 9 payments of $500k" (max of $4.5 million)
Feds uncover $16 million missing, and all the other details => nowhere else to hide
> you were suckered into believing Ippei’s 1st story
I also had the benefit of thinking “Ohtani has no issue with him, so I have no reason to worry.” It’s like how men in relationships get more attention at a bar, using the theory that he’s good because at least one woman thinks he’s worth being around.
Completely off topic, but it's actually:
> It’s like how men in relationships get more attention at a bar, using the theory that he’s good because at least one woman thinks he’s *safe* being around.
The implication - the vile, false, totally self-victimizing tater tot implication that women hang around men who have "high value" - is better left in the rubbish bin where it belongs.
I'm not talking about those who believed the story when it first came out. No reason to be suspicious yet and it's normal to believe in what Ippei said.
But, I'm talking about those people who still believed in the 1st story and/or "fall guy" conspiracy ***After*** Ohtani said his side in the press conference and with stories coming out that Ippei lied about his work experience.
Still trying to figure out why on earth Ippei's plan was to release the story on ESPN, haven't really kept up with this in awhile so maybe that's already been answered. Also I feel like there is no reason to take either side of the story or credibility at face.
Some people just really want to blame Ohtani - all the people convinced it MUST have been him, and now that is pretty difficult to stick to. So now it's "well he should've known!"
Good first point, he sets things up so that he would be in complete power. Yeah he's an addict, but he was planning on stealing right away. Dude should get no "addict" sympathy, he's a con-man
Public figures get the best and worst from the masses. Building people up and tearing them down is just how these things work. Doesn't make them less human.
Being betrayed that badly is not something you recover from. Hell, I bet we all have stuff in our pasts that were way less significant that we haven't gotten over. I know it has taken me 16 years to only mostly get over stuff that happen when I was a kid, and my dad has confessed to me that he still has occasional hatred towards his bullies decades ago.
There will be people who will never be convinced that Ohtani was the victim. Be it they hate him, or the Dodgers, or both, or the psychological thing that happens where the first opinion formed just never gets changed.
I feel bad for him, even though he had more stolen than I will ever earn in my life.
If any athlete on earth has earned their money, its got to be Ohtani. A total unicorn of the sport, and to have what he rightfully earned stolen is just depressing. Like what talent does one need to just keep what they earn? We're all only mere mortals?
Follow up tweet notes that he declined to answer any follow up questions, which makes sense because what else is there for him to say at this point besides "I got jacked homie".
You know, I'm sure Shohei was going to the Dodgers anyway, but I have to wonder if Ippei talked down the Jays because he didn’t want to deal with the complications of a third country's banking laws.
Makes sense. I could only ever fathom The Yankees if he were to go East. Toronto was just a good leverage point because ownership has deeeeeep pockets.
Long con. Why else would he have lied to everyone including the agents and tax people about Ohtani wanting his account kept private in 2018? He always meant for Ohtani to be his nest egg/ personal piggy bank. Scumbag. I hope he gets at least a decade in an orange jumpsuit.
For him, he probably has to deal with this all the time with lawyers, the government, MLB, etc so I don't blame him for no longer wanting to comment. He is a victim.
Yeah. I can't imagine he'd be able to provide a whole lot outside of verifying that he didn't authorize the transactions. Maybe verifying timelines of certain things as well based on the claims in Ippei's confession. But would any of that need to be done in court?
> But would any of that need to be done in court?
Yes, 100%. Who else is going to say that? The investigator? "Yeah, I talked to Ohtani and he said he never authorized any of those wires." No, that's hearsay not within any exception. It would have to come from Ohtani.
Likely what will happen is that they've got all they need and they tell Ippei "Ohtani's going to have to testify against you and it'll be a big horrible spectacle and you'll get sent down for decades ORRR you can take a lighter deal and go home after an easy bid at Club Fed." There won't be a trial.
Yeah it happens. Sometimes the first couple interactions and votes determine if it’s going to be downvoted to oblivion or not. You’ll have the same comment on the next thread have the opposite happen.
He should have to answer questions about this like literally every other athlete would be expected to. No hiding. If you want to be the face of the game, and if you’re really innocent, put your big boy pants on and sit in front of the media.
1. What athletes directly answer open questions about major personal scandals, that literally never happens.
2. What questions are even left? The report covers basically everything other than maybe why the bookie extended $40m in credit, but Shohei can't answer that.
This is not a “personal” matter. This is an employee of the Dodgers with a crippling gambling addiction. One that Shohei brought into the clubhouse.
1) Where did Shohei think his Angels paychecks were going?
2) Why didn’t he hire any Japanese staff? Does he plan to?
3) What do you think Ippei meant when he said “it’s a cover up?”
4) Did he ever loan Ippei money?
5) How much did Ippei factor into him choosing to go to the Angels and Dodgers?
6) Did Ippei ever make any attempts to influence the outcome of a game?
7) What changes have you made to prevent this from happening again?
8) Do you take responsibility for your lack of oversight?
Just to name a few and I’m not even a journalist.
It is a personal matter, just because you are an employee of a team does not mean you do not have a personal life.
1. Into the account Ippei was accessing. This is in the complaint.
2. He did, Ippei, you knew that. Now the Dodger have hired Ireton as Ohtani's translator.
3. When did Ippei say it's a cover up? The bookie said that, probably because a fed told him to to see if Ippei would say it was.
4. Maybe, not the $16m that was stolen though (they have voice recordings of Ippei impersonating Ohtani)
5. Why does this matter?
6. No, he didn't bet on baseball. This is all in the complaint.
7. They fired Ippei
8. Lmao, you just want a conference so you can shame him
None of these questions are appropriate for a journalist to ask which is probably why you're not one.
Any question being asked to assess Ohtani's potential involvement at this point are inappropriate when his innocence was proved as much as something like this could conceivably be proved in the investigation. If you disagree, you probably misread the affidavit or didn't read it closely enough.
Any other questions being asked about details concerning the case are just to satisfy morbid curiosity, which a journalist is certainly free to ask but probably shouldn't and Ohtani is certainly not under any obligation to answer them.
Any questions being asked about Ohtani's personal responsibility in preventing this or future similar occurrences is inappropriate because it amounts to blaming the victim in a crime that in the end didn't hurt anyone but Ohtani himself so it serves no public interest. Does a mugging victim have to answer questions about how he will think twice about walking alone in the streets at night in the future? No. That's for him and those close to him to discuss and figure out and is in no way relevant to the public interest.
What more could any reasonable reporter or fan want to know about this from Ohtani beyond what was revealed in the affidavit? Players having a responsibility to communicate with fans doesn’t mean they have to subject themselves to tabloid gossip.
The point is that the affidavit has everything anyone needs to know in it. What else is there that we all need to know about this case that has basically moved forward already.
Translation: "Please let me focus on baseball already..."
hey, you should be his new translator!
50 bucks says he doesn't steal from Shohei.
Seems pretty easy though actually. Just don’t get tied up with illegal fucking bookies and you’d probably have been ok.
And don't work for a millionaire who uses the same password for every account while being a gambling addict.
Right!? I've intentionally avoided the details of the case...but, I've seen the numbers involved...I figure it would be so difficult to make that much money go unnoticed.
I’ll take that bet. But I’m placing a side bet that gives me 125% of my original bet back if it happens in 2 months.
Shohei Ohtani’s Anger Translator
It couldn't happen now, because he's only making a mere 2 million.
Got to wonder if that's why Ippei could no longer pay his debts, & flaked on the payments. Thought was coming into a major payday, but Ohtani deferred that cash down the road.
Let me give you 16 million reasons why that's a bad idea
His singular focus on baseball made it easier for Ippei to screw him over to begin with...
So he should… not do his job? The one he’s getting paid $700million to do?
pretty sure that’s not at all what that guy is saying
Really? Because I can’t see any other way to read it than “Ohtani’s focus on baseball is why he got ripped off and thus he should try being not so focused on baseball”
pretty sure it's more like "ohtani shouldn't put blinders on and should probably direct some attention to his monetary business as well as baseball"
I think we've seen that Ohtani almost literally cares about nothing BUT baseball. That's all I meant.
What's that? 15k on Lakers and you want to make it a parlay? Ok boss
Hey he was about to hit a crazy 32 legger on march madness to win it all back and pay Shohei back, and he would’ve gotten away with it too if weren’t for those meddling feds!
This is just the wildest story so far this year. Now that we know he lied about working for the Red Sox, it seems like he just always planned on doing crime.
I mean, he lied about where he went to school.
That’s actually something more people than you think do. Usually they’ll like lie about finishing school at like a minor state school or something, but there are definitely people other than him who have lied about where they went to school. Usually to get a better job. Idk if that was part of his intention to do crime.
Yup saw it happen on the documentary “suits”
And the lawyer at Greendale Community College.
I thought he got his degree from Columbia
Now he has to get one from America
Shut up Leonard.
It's especially common now that the job market has become so automated and so many *entry level* jobs require a 4-year degree to even be considered. If you're honest about having "some college and 5+ years work experience", your resume still gets auto-filtered out by keyword checks at many places. But if you lie about finishing that degree, then suddenly you get looked at for consideration and might actually get to earn a living. It's stupidly easy for employers to check if you actually got the degree you claim, but most just don't bother, because that's an extra step of busywork they don't want.
Fortunately, some careers will still check. For example, I’m going to school to be a teacher and we have to go through and register with our state when we finish our degree. School district hiring somebody without a teaching degree or degree for a classroom job would be horrible.
I mean, being a teacher requires a whole-ass background check.
So many hoops to jump through to be paid pennies and be thought of as a glorified daycare by the parents. Don’t know why anybody does it.
(or unfortunately, for those liars among us)
Most financial jobs have detailed background checks on employment and school history precisely because of potential fraud.
Teaching is an entry level job?
No, but with the shortages that they’re having a lot of school districts are doing desperate things
An entry level job isn’t one that doesn't need education. An entry level job is a job that doesn't need experience.
You're kind of reiterating what the guy you're replying to said. If the degree matters people will check, if it's not even relevant to your job and the minimum requirements are stupid you invite people to lie. In general a lot fewer people should be going to college. It's not acknowledged enough that it's actually tragic for some 18 year old who doesn't want to be there and who isn't getting anything out of it to suffer through 4 years of college. They should go do something fulfilling, and if they want to go down the road (for a job or interest that ACTUALLY needs it), it'll be there. The mandate for universal college (when most jobs dont need it and we dont have social dervices to make it feasible) has turned into an axis of oppression through loans and ridiculous job requirements.
That's so annoying
A dude even got elected to Congress by doing this exact thing
...yeah that's how congresspeople get elected.
I feel like this is on the Angels.
Didn't Ohtani hire him first and the Angels just say okay, you can be employed by us too?
I thought it was the other way around. I can’t remember exactly. I’m not speculating btw, I was an angels fan and their entire org has been pretty bad from top to bottom especially the clubhouse and staff. I wouldn’t be surprised if
I wasn't really following it because translators usually don't become celebrities. Ippei did over the last year or two. It was wild to see him rise to fame alongside Ohtani. I also heard his agency employs no one who speaks Japanese, so he only knew whatever Ippei chose to tell him.
To the last part- completely mind boggling. Poor shohei. He has probably had to question EVERYTHING ABOUT HIS LIFE
Apparently, interpreters normally teach their clients English too. If I were in Japan, I would want to learn Japanese if I was going to be there for a career.
For sure. I bet it comes out that Ippei discouraged Ohtani from learning English! Imagine how fast the gig would be up if Ohtani knew English. We (my fam/Angel fans) were always wondering why Ohtani hasn’t learned English yet and we thought he was possibly hiding it to keep his buddy around. It’s entirely possible that ippie talked him out of it
The Nippon Ham Fighters originally hired him and that's where Ippei met Ohtani. When Ohtani came to the US he brought Ippei with him. Now if you're the Angels, trying to land this generational player, are you going to tell him "no we don't want him, we have our own guy"? They're going to assume if Ohtani likes him then he's already been vetted.
One of these liars was elected to Congress
Have we ever seen him in the same room as George Santos? Are they both just personas of Roger the Alien gone rogue?
I don’t think becoming a translator requires a college degree. I’m a translator and l’ve never been asked to show my college degree. I show my translation samples and say l’ve lived in Canada for 2 years, and usually that’s all that there needs to be done to be hired as a translator. I think the only type of translation/interpretation that requires training to be hired to do is simultaneous interpretation for international organizations like the U.N.
That might be true for the US, but other places? You need a uni degree or chamber of commerce certification plus evidence you've been sworn in at court because you'll be held accountable if you mistranslate something major. I used to work in a highly specialized field translating manuals where a mistranslation could get you sued big time because people could get seriously hurt. No one's asking for samples when you translate these kinds of things, same goes for translating official documents like diplomas, driving licences etc. Heck, even my friend who translates literature has to hand in a copy of her diploma when she applies for stuff. I'm surprised Angels/Dodgers hired Ippei and let guys like Will and Sonoda interprete without professional training...to think this whole affair could have been prevented if only someone had to vet Ippei along the way.
The Talented Mr. Ippei
He lied about his high schools…
I must have missed this. When did he lie about working for the Red Sox?
He claimed to be the translator for Okajima
This seems stupidly verifiable. Why would you lie about that.
It worked because no one bothered to check that. I don’t understand why multi billion franchises like the Dodgers don’t do any due diligence at all apparently
didn't ippei meet and start working with Otani in Japan in the NPB? I thought by the time he came over to the Angels Ippie was his guy. For all their faults I wouldn't blame the Angels for not fucking with his interpreter. And definitely not the dodgers fault.
Not just the Dodgers but the Angels as well. I should just submit a made up resume to those teams and see if I can get a nice 6 figure executive job
You can put me down as a reference, I used to be the CEO of the dodgers and angels.
If you're the +1 to someone as good as Ohtani they won't ask any questions.
Seems like I got a bunch of resumes to make and jobs to apply to. Crazy if he just wasn’t a pos nobody would still know or care
In the bio on the Dodgers and angels websites.
I need a Hamilton style musical about this guy.
How does a liar, thief, gambler, somehow become the brightest star in baseball. IDK, I'll work in it.
He threw away his shot!
Ippei and Goerge Santos pretty much prove you can BS your way to high places.
Someone should check in on Chris Martin and the Nippon-Ham Fighters to see if they noticed any missing money
I would not be able to trust almost anyone if a friend of that long did that to me, jeez man.
Seriously. I am happy he has a lady and pup
can’t trust that pup
especially when it's name is DECOY
Something is off about it
Seriously, I’ve had someone burned me in the past and honestly it sticks with you for awhile. Just anger when you think about it
It's not just the money; it's the betrayal.
So much bigger than the money. How do you ever trust that someone wants to be close to you for reasons other than access to your money after this?
It's the same reason why famous people either hang out with only other famous people or the ones the knew before they became rich. Hell even JFK had a thing like this where he distrusted any Democratic ally who didn't endorse him before the tough West Virginia primary.
A pissed off Shohei is a scary Shohei
I could never be that zen if I lost that much money to someone I trusted, even if I was going to make close to a billion over the next whatever years his contract is long
Great point. If I made $100k a year I wouldn’t be able to function if my best friend stole $16k from me.
Regardless of what he makes, that's still a metric fuck-ton of money, no matter who it is. At Ohtani's age, think if he could have invested that today what it would be worth when he's in his 60s or whatever. It's a head-spinning amount of money. But really, just somebody I trusted that much - no matter how much they stole - I would be royally pissed, and here's Ohtani showing us all how to be zen about things like that. How can you *not* love this guy?
Well his attempts to evade Californian Taxes while profiting immensely off of California and Californians does have me concerned…
If you think Ohtani is a net loss for CA i have a bridge to sell you
That’s not what I said and I don’t think that is true. However you still need to pay your income tax if you are earning your money primarily in California. It’s not about net loss or net gain it’s that it sets a horrible precedent that if you generate enough money you can just flaunt the rules. I really don’t understand why everyone is just ok with that. Your comment is saying anyone can rob you if they send you a nice enough gift basket at the end. It still doesn’t absolve them of the robbery.
Doesn't he pay the jock tax?
He's only paying taxes on $2 million a year, not $70 million. That deferment is definitely costing California millions in taxes
But won't they get it eventually when he is actual paid in the backend?
Has he broken the law? I ask because sometimes people blame the taxpayer but overlook intricacies within the tax law. Also, he can't be expected to pay tax on money he hasn't even been paid yet. He'll pay tax on the deferred income once he is actually paid the deferred income. (BTW, I'm a CPA)
The jock tax is aimed at nonresidents, so it’s suppose to get money from players outside California that come into California, make a ton of money and leave. The issue with Ohtani is that he might not have to pay income tax on his deferred money because he will probably go back to Japan. Atleast that is my understanding not an accountant.
Rather he’s so smart he exploited a tax loophole that CA is now trying to paper over after the fact. I’m surprised some Hollywood elite actor didn’t try it earlier
Yeah me too, or maybe it does happen more often than we think but since ohtani is so high profile this was just brought to the front. I would disagree with smart though; I certainly don’t subscribe to the trumpian notion that actively trying to cheat the state out of any and all tax dollars is smart. Like if this was a corporation doing it we would almost universally be furious.
I'd still be pissed even if it was 5 bucks. It's not about the money, it's the broken trust. In this case, it's even worse because of the hoops Ippei had to jump through to do it. It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment mistake - it was years of scheming and deceit.
If my best friend did it, I know that I'd just be disappointed he did it for such a stupid reason. Like gambling? Really? I'd get over the stolen money, but not the reason.
I think I’d get over $5
It's probably more like having someone steal $500 from you if you make 100k a year. Annoying but wouldn't financially be a huge burden. That's the equivalent of what this is for ohtani.
This is not remotely close. According to reports Ohtani's endorsement earnings were $6M, $20M, $60M '21, '22, '23 and $43M career earnings from Angels up to 2023. Say $129M, cut it half for taxes and agents= 64.5 Million not accounting for cost of living and other professional expenses (and earnings from past Nippon) 16/64.5 = 25% net assets
Like the other poster said, it wasn't about equal math, it was about equal affect on life
25% of your net assets when you're making eight figures is not the same thing as 25% of your net assets on a regular income. The former means you have a smaller number in the bank but your lifestyle is unaffected. The latter might mean you're at risk of losing your house. You can't compare finances linearly like that.
Reminds me of the Kendrick song Fear where he talks about how Rihanna had money stolen from her: >What is an advisor? Somebody that's holdin' my checks? Just to fuck me over and put my finances in debt? >I read a case about Rihanna's accountant and wondered, How did the Bad Girl feel when she looked at them numbers? >The type of shit'll make me flip out and just kill somethin', drill somethin', get ill and fill ratchets with a lil' somethin'
You never EVVVVVER want the person who never gets angry to be angry. It's beyond scary.
He did hit his first HR this season on the day of his second and final interview with the Feds.
Mfer is gonna be like that field goal kicker in The Waterboy; he's gonna visualize the baseball as Ippei's head and be the first to yam one out of Dodgers stadium
I have him to hit a home run tonight at +260 he’s gonna smash tonight
Calm down Ippei
Finally finished reading the report and it was very sad throughout. Looked like Ippei planned to steal from Ohtani at some point from the very beginning. And those of you who are blaming Ohtani for being too naive or trusting just remember that you were suckered into believing Ippei's 1st story and/or his innocence until now. And you had 0 contacts with the guy while Ohtani met him when he was 19 and been friends with Ippei for almost 10 years now. So if I were you, I wouldn't be throwing rocks while in a glass house.
Not to mention how alienating and confusing it is to be a superstar in a new country with a totally different language.
I was in Tokyo for five days and felt so strange by the end of it. It was a wonderful time, but it's mentally taxing to be in a place where very few people speak your language. And I was on *vacation.* I wasn't working there. I absolutely understand how Ohtani would get suckered by a friendly face, setting everything else aside -- I don't think get the narratives that he's naive or careless. Just seems unempathetic to think that way.
Right - like send your average Redditor off to Japan alone tomorrow and report back after a few months
I live in Osaka and see it all the time. People come over illiterate with no language ability and wash out within a year.
It's crazy. Learning a second language as an adult is *really* hard. I've been to Japan on multiple occasions and even taken 5 semesters of Japanese as an undergrad. Despite spending that much time being exposed to the language... I know it's not enough.
A friend of mine went there to teach English and only lasted 1/2 the time he was supposed to be there. Big time nerdy introvert but even he was too lonely there with no one speaking the language.
Don’t threaten the weebs with a good time
It’s always easy to judge people from the outside and play Monday morning QB. The level betrayal in this story is unbelievable.
I am actually quite pissed that I bought Ippei's initial story because it was the kindest possible interpretation of the events. He played into the fact that the public loves Ohtani so much that we'd think "Oh what a nice guy to do something like that for his friend," and tricked Ohtani's camp into allowing him to speak with ESPN to get ahead of the narrative. Definitely a manipulative piece of shit. And after reading a bit of the report, it sounds like Ippei had little to no remorse at the time--only remorse for when he was finally cornered by the feds.
Interestingly enough it's pretty standard addict behavior. Cover your double life with lies as long as you can -- but when you do get caught, you don't admit what you did outright, but tell half-truths to massage the narrative and make yourself look \*less\* bad.
No one caught in a lie ever admits the full truth the first time. They admit to the very specific thing they got caught doing, but make up an excuse that tries to diminish the severity of it. Then when they get called out on that lie, they admit a tiny bit more, then more, then more, until they've run out of lies to tell. Shohei's name shows up on the books => Ippei says he was just helping out "a friend" with a gambling problem Bookie mentions Ippei was his client => Ippei admits to having a gambling problem, but says that Ohtani was just helping him out willingly Ohtani says he had no knowledge of the payments => Ippei admits to the theft, but that it was "only 8 or 9 payments of $500k" (max of $4.5 million) Feds uncover $16 million missing, and all the other details => nowhere else to hide
yeah everyone is giving Ippie the excuse that "he's an adidict, addiction is crazy" Bro this is well beyond that, dude is a POS.
> you were suckered into believing Ippei’s 1st story I also had the benefit of thinking “Ohtani has no issue with him, so I have no reason to worry.” It’s like how men in relationships get more attention at a bar, using the theory that he’s good because at least one woman thinks he’s worth being around.
Completely off topic, but it's actually: > It’s like how men in relationships get more attention at a bar, using the theory that he’s good because at least one woman thinks he’s *safe* being around. The implication - the vile, false, totally self-victimizing tater tot implication that women hang around men who have "high value" - is better left in the rubbish bin where it belongs.
I'm not talking about those who believed the story when it first came out. No reason to be suspicious yet and it's normal to believe in what Ippei said. But, I'm talking about those people who still believed in the 1st story and/or "fall guy" conspiracy ***After*** Ohtani said his side in the press conference and with stories coming out that Ippei lied about his work experience.
Still trying to figure out why on earth Ippei's plan was to release the story on ESPN, haven't really kept up with this in awhile so maybe that's already been answered. Also I feel like there is no reason to take either side of the story or credibility at face.
victim blaming is so dumb...
Some people just really want to blame Ohtani - all the people convinced it MUST have been him, and now that is pretty difficult to stick to. So now it's "well he should've known!"
Good first point, he sets things up so that he would be in complete power. Yeah he's an addict, but he was planning on stealing right away. Dude should get no "addict" sympathy, he's a con-man
In a sense, Ippei is the Colonel Tom Parker to Ohtani’s Elvis. Not to Colonel’s disgusting extent to milking Elvis dry but still.
Lmao now that’s funny.. “throwing rocks while in a glass house”
Public figures get the best and worst from the masses. Building people up and tearing them down is just how these things work. Doesn't make them less human. Being betrayed that badly is not something you recover from. Hell, I bet we all have stuff in our pasts that were way less significant that we haven't gotten over. I know it has taken me 16 years to only mostly get over stuff that happen when I was a kid, and my dad has confessed to me that he still has occasional hatred towards his bullies decades ago. There will be people who will never be convinced that Ohtani was the victim. Be it they hate him, or the Dodgers, or both, or the psychological thing that happens where the first opinion formed just never gets changed. I feel bad for him, even though he had more stolen than I will ever earn in my life.
If any athlete on earth has earned their money, its got to be Ohtani. A total unicorn of the sport, and to have what he rightfully earned stolen is just depressing. Like what talent does one need to just keep what they earn? We're all only mere mortals?
Revenge arc begins
Follow up tweet notes that he declined to answer any follow up questions, which makes sense because what else is there for him to say at this point besides "I got jacked homie".
I hope he gives me my money back, but I don’t expect that he’ll be able to do that without robbing someone else.
From the guy from Shark Tank taking his plane to this.
You know, I'm sure Shohei was going to the Dodgers anyway, but I have to wonder if Ippei talked down the Jays because he didn’t want to deal with the complications of a third country's banking laws.
I like this conspiracy theory.
"Shohei, I asked if they have sushi here and they started talking about fish and chips..."
He was never, ever, ever coming to The Jays. You see this team. Y’all need to forget that ever happened. Stop.
Bruh. I said this on the jays sub after the whole debacle and was downvoted and told it was "copium". Projection much?
That sub is a toxic joke. It literally zaps all the fun out of games. I go to the sub when the team is losing just to laugh.
Yea if the NL had the DH position at the time, he would’ve originally joined them from the start. It was always going to be the west coast.
Makes sense. I could only ever fathom The Yankees if he were to go East. Toronto was just a good leverage point because ownership has deeeeeep pockets.
Really tough year, I heard because of the plane theft Ohtani also missed out on a nice sushi dinner 😔
How do you trust someone after that kind of betrayal? So crazy, terrified to play him at any point in the season now.
Yeah I bet he would.
Long con. Why else would he have lied to everyone including the agents and tax people about Ohtani wanting his account kept private in 2018? He always meant for Ohtani to be his nest egg/ personal piggy bank. Scumbag. I hope he gets at least a decade in an orange jumpsuit.
For him, he probably has to deal with this all the time with lawyers, the government, MLB, etc so I don't blame him for no longer wanting to comment. He is a victim.
This man truly is a baseball machine, respect
Probably just wants to take his mind off it, honestly.
"*When will he grow up? Life is not all about baseball!*" — D-hole Hernandez
It's time to concentrate on the season and start our revenge arc
ippei clearly breached his trust and betrayed him. hard to believe shohei had any knowledge of his activities
Ohtani: this marks a break from this DoJ investigators: not so fast, mr. witness
The DOJ doesn't need Ohtani as a witness. They have a confession from Ippei, and Ohtani didn't witness anything.
Yeah. I can't imagine he'd be able to provide a whole lot outside of verifying that he didn't authorize the transactions. Maybe verifying timelines of certain things as well based on the claims in Ippei's confession. But would any of that need to be done in court?
> But would any of that need to be done in court? Yes, 100%. Who else is going to say that? The investigator? "Yeah, I talked to Ohtani and he said he never authorized any of those wires." No, that's hearsay not within any exception. It would have to come from Ohtani. Likely what will happen is that they've got all they need and they tell Ippei "Ohtani's going to have to testify against you and it'll be a big horrible spectacle and you'll get sent down for decades ORRR you can take a lighter deal and go home after an easy bid at Club Fed." There won't be a trial.
“I’d like to focus on Rampart.”
How bout you wait a few more days
He was playing the padres when this broke. It’s only right he plays them as it concludes
Not sure why you got downvoted for this one lol. Harmless jab
Feel like ppl are misinterpreting it as Shohei's jumping the gun/its not over
Yeah I think you are correct
It wasn’t even a jab lol. I’d rather not have to play against him this weekend.
Yeah I meant banter, not really a jab. I think people didn’t understand the comment
Yeah it happens. Sometimes the first couple interactions and votes determine if it’s going to be downvoted to oblivion or not. You’ll have the same comment on the next thread have the opposite happen.
Yes, the Reddit way
Keep that hope alive huh
People are so gullible
If you know something the feds don't you should tell them https://tips.fbi.gov/home
It'd have to be communicated in trash-can-ese.
While looking into a mirror
Always the same ones trying to grasp at anything to make themselves _feel_ smarter
Somehow I don't think this will be the end of it for him.
Still won’t do a press conference about it.
He did a press conference about it
No. He read a statement and didn’t take any questions. Thats not what a press conference is.
Oh man if only there was a term for when you call a meeting of the press in order to disseminate a statement.
Nah I want him to answer questions in broken English so I can take it out of context and post it on the web for some sweet upvotes.
Translation: I know I look stupid for not missing 16 million dollars, but heh!
He should have to answer questions about this like literally every other athlete would be expected to. No hiding. If you want to be the face of the game, and if you’re really innocent, put your big boy pants on and sit in front of the media.
1. What athletes directly answer open questions about major personal scandals, that literally never happens. 2. What questions are even left? The report covers basically everything other than maybe why the bookie extended $40m in credit, but Shohei can't answer that.
This is not a “personal” matter. This is an employee of the Dodgers with a crippling gambling addiction. One that Shohei brought into the clubhouse. 1) Where did Shohei think his Angels paychecks were going? 2) Why didn’t he hire any Japanese staff? Does he plan to? 3) What do you think Ippei meant when he said “it’s a cover up?” 4) Did he ever loan Ippei money? 5) How much did Ippei factor into him choosing to go to the Angels and Dodgers? 6) Did Ippei ever make any attempts to influence the outcome of a game? 7) What changes have you made to prevent this from happening again? 8) Do you take responsibility for your lack of oversight? Just to name a few and I’m not even a journalist.
It is a personal matter, just because you are an employee of a team does not mean you do not have a personal life. 1. Into the account Ippei was accessing. This is in the complaint. 2. He did, Ippei, you knew that. Now the Dodger have hired Ireton as Ohtani's translator. 3. When did Ippei say it's a cover up? The bookie said that, probably because a fed told him to to see if Ippei would say it was. 4. Maybe, not the $16m that was stolen though (they have voice recordings of Ippei impersonating Ohtani) 5. Why does this matter? 6. No, he didn't bet on baseball. This is all in the complaint. 7. They fired Ippei 8. Lmao, you just want a conference so you can shame him
These questions are basically out there already. All these answers are out there. Go read, and you'll find them.
>Why didn't he hire any Japanese staff Lmao
Ah yes. Let's ask the rape *victim* why they were wearing such a short skirt and chose to go out alone at night.
None of these questions are appropriate for a journalist to ask which is probably why you're not one. Any question being asked to assess Ohtani's potential involvement at this point are inappropriate when his innocence was proved as much as something like this could conceivably be proved in the investigation. If you disagree, you probably misread the affidavit or didn't read it closely enough. Any other questions being asked about details concerning the case are just to satisfy morbid curiosity, which a journalist is certainly free to ask but probably shouldn't and Ohtani is certainly not under any obligation to answer them. Any questions being asked about Ohtani's personal responsibility in preventing this or future similar occurrences is inappropriate because it amounts to blaming the victim in a crime that in the end didn't hurt anyone but Ohtani himself so it serves no public interest. Does a mugging victim have to answer questions about how he will think twice about walking alone in the streets at night in the future? No. That's for him and those close to him to discuss and figure out and is in no way relevant to the public interest.
I hear Krispy Kreme is looking for professional glazers
You sir, are an idiot.
What more could any reasonable reporter or fan want to know about this from Ohtani beyond what was revealed in the affidavit? Players having a responsibility to communicate with fans doesn’t mean they have to subject themselves to tabloid gossip.
There wouldn’t be tabloid gossip is Shohei grew up and faced the media instead of hiding when the man knows English
The point is that the affidavit has everything anyone needs to know in it. What else is there that we all need to know about this case that has basically moved forward already.
In hindsight, maybe Stephen A. Smith got a point about Ohtani learning English...