February 07, 2025
In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA changes course to accommodate a presidential ban on transgender women athletes, Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter is sentenced for his gambling-driven embezzlement, and women's soccer players get restitution for abuse at the hands of their coaches and teams.
February 06, 2025
A California federal judge on Thursday ordered Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter to serve 57 months in prison for stealing nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar to pay off massive gambling debts, remarking that he found the defendant's claims regarding his financial stress "to be a bit misleading."
January 24, 2025
Prosecutors urged a California federal judge Thursday to sentence Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter to nearly five years in prison for stealing nearly $17 million from the MLB superstar to help pay massive gambling debts, while defense counsel argued that he should serve only 18 months because of his "severe gambling addiction."
December 19, 2024
A messy gambling and fraud scandal that victimized Major League Baseball's best player, the blackballing of an NBA journeyman and rising fears about the integrity of college sports all marked a busy year for sports attorneys tracking the patchwork of enforcement efforts to crack down on illicit betting activity.
June 07, 2024
In this week's Off The Bench, the NFL stands trial in a massive antitrust class action over its Sunday Ticket broadcast package, a series of sports betting crackdowns makes waves in the MLB and the NBA, and the U.S. Tennis Association denies any liability for a player's sexual assault by her coach.
June 04, 2024
Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter pled guilty Tuesday to bank and tax fraud charges in a packed Santa Ana, California, federal courtroom, admitting he stole nearly $17 million from the MLB superstar to help pay off massive gambling debts.
May 14, 2024
Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter pleaded not guilty Tuesday to bank and tax fraud charges in a Los Angeles federal courtroom, although it was a procedural formality as he already reached a plea deal with prosecutors, and his attorney told a U.S. magistrate judge his client will plead guilty.
May 10, 2024
In this week's Off The Bench, Shohei Ohtani's ex-interpreter will plead guilty, an NBA star wins in his clash with the agent who sought to represent him, and a tennis player who was abused by her former coach is awarded $9 million.
May 08, 2024
The former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges Wednesday in connection with a scheme to steal nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star to pay off debts he amassed through an illegal gambling operation.