A TV series about the gambling scandal involving Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter who stole nearly $17 million from him is in development.
Just one day after Ippei Mizuhara agreed to plead guilty to charges of bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return, Lionsgate Television is reportedly launching the project with producers Scott Delman and Albert Chen, according to Deadline.
The as-yet-untitled project will follow Ohtani's rise as a baseball star and the achievements that led to two American League MVP awards and his record-breaking, 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers. But in the opening days of the 2024 MLB season, news of Mizuhara stealing from Ohtani to cover his massive gambling debts (totaling $40 million) became public.
Mizuhara faces up to 30 years in prison for the two charges. He became Ohtani's financial advocate when the two-way star moved to the United States, helping him to set up a bank account and later impersonating Ohtani to change information and begin moving money out of the account.
Ohtani has denied any knowledge of Mizuhara's gambling and theft, and federal authorities have confirmed that he was a victim in the situation. Despite the scandal, Ohtani has excelled in his first year with the Dodgers. He's batting .355 with a 1.103 OPS, 14 doubles, 11 home runs, 27 RBI and nine stolen bases in 175 plate appearances.
Chen, a former Sports Illustrated senior editor, covered baseball for the publication and has been a contributor to MLB Network.
“This is Major League Baseball’s biggest sports gambling scandal since Pete Rose — and at its center is its biggest star, one that MLB has hitched its wagon on," Chen said in a statement, via Deadline. "We’ll get to the heart of the story — a story of trust, betrayal and the trappings of wealth and fame."
Chen is also the author of "Billion Dollar Fantasy," a book that covers the sports gambling and fantasy landscape through the rivalry between betting companies FanDuel and DraftKings.
"Albert's extensive sports journalism background will enable us to connect the dots to make sense of the startling turn of events we've seen play out on the world stage," added Delman, who produced the Max series "Station Eleven" and Broadway shows including "The Book of Mormon."
