Shohei Ohtani is facing a 'Pandora's box' amid federal gambling probe after the Dodgers star's spokespeople changed their story and pointed the finger at his now-fired interpreter, says radio host and ex-con Craig Carton

The betting scandal facing Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has the potential to become a 'Pandora's box,' according to Craig Carton, the sports radio host who served a year in prison over a fraud scheme intended to cover his own gambling debts.

Ohtani's long-time interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was fired Wednesday amid questions surrounding at least $4.5 million in suspicious wire transfers from Ohtani's bank to a California gambling operation that ESPN reports is under federal investigation.

But as Carton noted, the initial story that was presented publicly differed significantly and the evolving narrative may be a troubling sign for Ohtani, the Dodgers and their fans.

'Ohtani's camp made a real calculated mistake changing the original story,' Carton told The New York Post in a phone call Thursday morning.

Ohtani spokespeople first told ESPN that the 29-year-old slugger was covering Mizuhara's extensive gambling debts. Later, after ESPN spoke with Mizuhara about the allegations, Ohtani spokespeople disavowed the translator's comments to the network, instead offering a statement from attorneys representing the two-time MVP.

Los Angeles Dodgers star player Shohei Ohtani and his now-fired interpreter Ippei Mizuhara

Craig Carton is seen leaving United States Court House on November 30, 2017 in New York

'In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,' read the statement from Ohtani's law firm, Berk Brettler LLP.

The statement did not specifically accuse Mizuhara of stealing, but the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the interpreter is accused of grifting millions from Ohtani. Meanwhile, ESPN is reporting that Mizuhara's debt totaled at least $4.5 million.

'At first, it was a friend with a gambling problem and Ohtani bailed him out, which is very believable to help a friend, as had been positioned to public,' Carton told The Post.

'When they went back on that and said the money was stolen, they opened up Pandora's box and now they have to really trust this interpreter.'

Ohtani's spokespeople have denied that he is involved in any illegal gambling. Neither Ohtani nor Mizuhara have been charged with any crimes.

With ESPN, Mizuhara reportedly admitted to gambling on sports – but not baseball – before promising to stop betting entirely. He declined further comment following the law firm's statement, which claimed Ohtani was the victim of theft.

Ohtani (right) has been working with Mizuhara (left) since the 2013 season 

'Now, you make the friend the focus of a criminal investigation,' Carton said. 'Now, the allegation is fraud, theft and embezzlement. The more people start digging into that, the more it will come out.

'Maybe there's a lot of smoke and no fire, but the fact that they made the guy available and did a complete 180 on the story at least causes concern.'

Carton also expressed some skepticism that Mizuhara avoided betting on baseball.

'The big problem is when the feds are done investigating this, if there's a single bet on a baseball game, there's big problems,' Carton said.

'The way a compulsive gambler thinks, which is not rational, is if you're in a financial hole and you're going to bet out of this hole, you would bet on what you know best, which in this case would be baseball, so it doesn't take a strong leap of faith to consider that he might have bet on baseball.'

But even if Mizuhara was not betting on baseball, sports gambling remains illegal in California and is a violation of Rule 21 of MLB's collective-bargaining agreement.

'Betting on Non baseball events w/ an ILLEGAL Bookie violates Rule 21 of the CBA but is NOT an auto suspension – its (sic) at discretion of commissioner - there is precedent in which a player was fined and not suspended – unlikely Ohtani is suspended if the story is as presented,' Carton wrote on X.

The bottom line, as Carton told the Post, is that this 'story isn't going away anytime soon.'