Ippei Mizuhara, a former interpreter for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is charged with stealing over $16 million from Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani.

Mizuhara's alleged theft funded his gambling addiction, with unauthorized bank transfers to place bets and purchase nearly 1,000 baseball cards.

The fraud spanned several years with Mizuhara falsely identifying as Ohtani for transactions and using the alias 'Jay Min' for purchases.

Mizuhara's gambling resulted in a net loss of more than $40 million after making approximately 19,000 bets with an illegal sportsbook.

Shohei Ohtani, who signed a $700-million deal with the Dodgers, denies authorizing any transfers, while Mizuhara admitted to the theft in texts.

The crimes could result in a maximum 30-year prison sentence, with MLB to conduct its own investigation after the federal probe.