former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara is in negotiations with federal investigators about pleading guilty to charges of stealing from Ohtanis bank account, according to a report from . Ohtani has Mizuhara a longtime friend of stealing from his accounts to pay off gambling debts which the interpreter had accrued. A few weeks ago, ESPN reported that more than $4.5MM had been wired from Ohtanis account to an illegal bookmaker in Southern California. The New York Times now reports that federal prosecutors have found evidence indicating that Mizuhara siphoned more than that initially reported $4.5MM figure, in part by disabling notifications that Ohtani would have received from his bank about account transactions. The gambling debts first became public in late March while the Dodgers were playing the Padres in South Korea. Initially, Mizuhara told ESPN that Ohtani had wired the money to the bookmaker to cover the debt. Mizuhara subsequently retracted that statement, telling ESPN the Lonzo Ball Jersey next day that Ohtani had been unaware of the entire situation. The two-time MVP said the same, releasing a statement accusing Mizuhara of stealing the money and referring the matter to the authorities. Both Ohtani and Mizuhara have stated that the two-way star did not place any bets. Mizuhara indicated that the bets were his alone but denied that he ever placed a bet related to baseball. Tonights report from Arango and Schmidt adds context to the conflicting stories. According to the New York Times, Mizuhara and Ohtanis agent, Nez Balelo of CAA, initially tried to manage the public relations fallout without informing Ohtani. The Times writes that Mizuhara first told Balelo that Ohtani had covered debts for an unnamed teammate. He then changed his story and admitted the debts were his own but still claimed that Ohtani agreed to pay them, which is the version of events he initially told ESPN. According to the Times report, Mizuhara then provided that same account when speaking in English to the L.A. clubhouse. Ohtani, who was present for that clubhouse addre s, told reporters two weeks ago that he confronted his friend thereafter. At that point, according to Ohtani, Mizuhara admitted that he had stolen the money. The Dodgers fired him at that point. The version of events laid out in the Times report aligns with Ohtanis public declaration that he was unaware of Mizuharas activities and played no role in the gambling scheme. Of course, neither the legal proce s nor MLBs investigation have been completed. Neither the U.S. attorneys office nor anyone from MLB has commented publicly since Ohtanis statement on March 25. Arango and Schmidt report that Ohtani has met with authorities in recent weeks. Jahlil Okafor Jersey