Ohtani Interpreter's $16M Fraud Scandal Stalls Scripted Series Development

As the Los Angeles Dodgers prepare to face the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2025 World Series, Lionsgate Television is finding it challenging to set up a scripted series about the gambling scandal involving Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani. According to a source, acquisition executives are concerned that taking on the project might damage their parent companies' current or future relationships with Major League Baseball.

The project, announced in May 2024, is being developed by producer Scott Delman and writer Alex Convery, who has become known for sports dramas. However, the series has faced setbacks, as major media companies with MLB rights deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year are hesitant to get involved.

The controversy at the heart of the series stems from Ohtani's personal interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, who was found to have wired large payments from the player's account to a bookmaking operation under federal investigation. Mizuhara later pleaded guilty to fraud for stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani's account. While Ohtani has denied ever betting on sports and was not implicated, the scandal has cast a shadow over his remarkable career.

For now, the dramatization of the Ohtani scandal remains stuck in the Lionsgate dugout, as the company navigates the complex web of relationships and concerns surrounding the project.