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STORY: The former interpreter for Japanese baseball great Shohei Ohtani has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $17 million from the athlete's bank account to pay off his own gambling debts, according to U.S. prosecutors.

Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges on Tuesday in a deal that was announced last month.

He could face up to 33 years behind bars.

“Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case.”

Here’s U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.

"Mr. Mizuhara was the one that, based on his addiction to sports betting, took advantage of his friend, the person who had given him an opportunity and victimized Mr. Ohtani. [FLASH] and Mr. Ohtani is an immigrant, came to this country, is not familiar with the ways of this country and therefore was easy prey to someone who is more familiar with our financial systems and was able to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani.”

According to prosecutors, Mizuhara began gambling with an illegal sports book in late 2021 and lost substantial sums.

And to cover his debts, he impersonated Ohtani over the phone on more than two dozen occasions to deceive bank employees into authorizing wire transfers from Ohtani's account.

Back in April, Estrada stressed there was nothing to suggest wrongdoing by Ohtani, who signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract to join the Los Angeles Dodgers this season…

becoming the highest paid player in Major League Baseball.

In a written statement, Ohtani said he was thankful for authorities for "their thorough and effective investigation," and that he wanted to move on to focus on winning ballgames.

The sentencing for Mizuhara is set for Oct. 25.