LOS ANGELES (AP) — The former interpreter for Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani is expected to be sentenced Thursday for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account.

Instead, Mizuhara exploited the language barrier to isolate Ohtani and profit from his proximity to the two-way player ’s power. Mizuhara pleaded guilty last year to federal charges after he was accused of siphoning money out of Ohtani's bank account to cover sports gambling bets and debts in a case that has stoked an international media frenzy.