The theft allegation leveled against Mizuhara on March 20 had contradicted what an unnamed Ohtani spokesman had told ESPN just hours earlier, the sports outlet reported. The ESPN article stated that the spokesman said the money came from Ohtani to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debts. The interpreter confirmed this account in a lengthy interview with the outlet on March 19, which was arranged by the spokesman, ESPN said.

But then the spokesman and later Mizuhara disavowed that account, and it was subsequently replaced with the claim that the interpreter stole the money through wire transfers of $500,000 each, according to ESPN. Brettler’s firm issued a statement saying it had notified law enforcement of the alleged “massive theft.” It has not said which agency it notified.

The IRS and Homeland Security are investigating the Bowyer case for the U.S. attorney’s office in L.A. The theft allegation could be handled by another agency, such as the FBI. An FBI spokesperson in L.A. did not respond to a reporter’s telephone call. The U.S. attorney’s office has declined to comment.

The investigation into Bowyer involves the same prosecution team that has focused on a multimillion-dollar illegal bookmaking scheme anchored in Orange County, according to Times sources and court records. At least a dozen people have been charged in that wider probe — including ex-Dodger Yasiel Puig, who has pleaded not guilty — that centered on a bookmaking operation led by former minor league baseball player Wayne Nix of Newport Beach, the records show.

David Shapiro, a former FBI agent who is an expert on financial investigations and teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said that even if Mizuhara had been granted access to Ohtani’s bank accounts, that should not have prevented Ohtani from being notified about the $500,000 wire transfers.

Shapiro said transfers of such size would “no doubt trigger some type of supervisory review” at the bank. An investigation of the transactions likely would produce “an abundance of objective evidence” of who approved the transfers and whether the account holder had been alerted.

Banks have a duty to monitor large transfers and file suspicious activity reports with the U.S. Treasury Department when it appears the money is going toward illegal enterprises, said Grupe, the other former FBI agent.

“Somebody on the bank side, certainly $500,000 wire transfers, somebody should be taking a look at that,” he said.

An L.A.-based financial advisor who works with athletes said the transfers would typically include documentation of who received the transfer, its purpose, confirmation that it aligned with the client’s wishes, and more. The advisor, who asked not to be named because his firm did not permit him to speak publicly, pointed to the numerous “tripwires” to prevent fraudulent transfers.

“Even if the client thinks it’s intrusive, it’s for their benefit,” the advisor said, “that we’re asking questions, asking for additional documents, all so something like this doesn’t actually happen.”

Chase Carlson, a Miami attorney who works with high-profile athletes in financial fraud matters, said, “Ideally, the athlete will have a personal relationship with his banker and/or financial advisor, so when wires are conducted, the institution can confirm that the transfer was authorized. However, that is not always the case.”

The Times learned of the Bowyer investigation two weeks ago from a source familiar with the probe. The paper then reviewed a document related to the inquiry that included Ohtani’s name. Bowyer’s attorney, Irvine-based Diane Bass, subsequently told The Times that her client did not have direct contact with Ohtani and could not be certain the ballplayer was the person placing bets.

“Mathew Bowyer never met, spoke with, or texted, or had contact in any way with Shohei Ohtani,” she said last week.

A source told The Times that Bowyer had bragged to associates in Las Vegas that Ohtani was his client. The source said Bowyer did so for “marketing purposes” in his alleged bookmaking business.

Bowyer has not been charged with a crime. Federal agents raided Bowyer’s San Juan Capistrano home in October as part of the investigation.

The Times left a voicemail message with Balelo, the CAA agent, on March 15 and did not hear back. After the paper emailed Balelo the next day, the publicist Hiltzik responded and eventually said Ohtani had no comment.

Hiltzik later put Brettler, the attorney, on the phone with two reporters. Asked on the call if Ohtani had engaged in illegal gambling, Brettler did not reply directly, but he said the paper’s reporting was based on “inaccuracies.” He would not specify what the inaccuracies were.

Ohtani later alleged that the translator kept him out of the loop about the inquiries: “Ippei didn’t tell me such reporting was taking place. … Ippei told everyone, including my agent, that I made payments not on behalf of Ippei, but on behalf of another friend.” The next day, Ohtani said, Mizuhara told the agent the ballplayer had paid the interpreter’s debt. Ohtani called it “a complete lie.”

The Times asked MLB for comment on March 17; the league responded the next day that it wasn’t aware of a federal investigation.

On March 20, as the drama continued to quietly take shape, the Dodgers beat the Padres in Seoul in a game that began at 3 a.m. Pacific time. Minutes before the contest ended, another camera caught Ohtani and Mizuhara chatting and laughing in the dugout. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

After the game, Mizuhara and Dodger executives — including owner Mark Walter — addressed the team in the clubhouse before it opened to the media. According to multiple people with knowledge of the meeting, players heard a story from the executives and Mizuhara similar to the one he initially told ESPN: The interpreter had a gambling problem, Ohtani paid his debts last year and that a news story detailing the situation was imminent.

Ohtani later said he “had a general idea” of Mizuhara’s comments in the meeting and it gave him “an uncomfortable feeling.”

Not long afterward, Mizuhara translated questions from reporters to Ohtani about his first regular-season game with the Dodgers.

“We returned to the hotel and Ippei spoke to me for the first time and that’s when I learned he had a huge debt,” Ohtani said. “That’s when he told me he accessed my bank account and made payments to a bookmaker. I thought that was strange, so I called my representatives.”

Hours later, Brettler’s firm publicly accused Mizuhara of theft.

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Los Angeles Times staff writers Dylan Hernández, Jack Harris and Gustavo Arellano contributed to this report

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