In the last year, Shohei Ohtani has become as famous for the financial scandals surrounding him as he has for his ability to slug baseballs. Now the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar is embroiled in yet another financial scandal, this time involving allegations made about a real estate deal in Hawaii. In addition, Ohtani continues to deal with blowback from a gambling fraud incident that landed his interpreter a nearly five-year prison sentence.
'Threats and baseless legal claims'
The latest scandal involves two Hawaiian real estate developers who are suing Ohtani and his agent. The lawsuit claims that Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo, got the developers "fired from a $240 million luxury housing development [the Vista at Mauna Kea] on the Big Island's coveted Hapuna Coast that they brought [Ohtani] in to endorse" and build a home in, said The Associated Press.
Balelo "increasingly demanded concessions" from the developers before allegedly "demanding that their business partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, drop them from the deal," said the AP. Ohtani and Balelo "exploited their celebrity leverage to destabilize and ultimately dismantle" the developers' "role in the project — for no reason other than their own financial self-interest," the lawsuit claims. The pair allegedly "used threats and baseless legal claims to force a business partner to betray its contractual obligations and strip Plaintiffs of the very project they conceived and built."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Latest Videos From
The lawsuit is "completely frivolous and without merit," Kingsbarn told the AP in a statement. The company added that it "takes full responsibility" for removing the developers. Ohtani himself said he was "focused on what the team is doing" when asked about the lawsuit.
Another scandal for Ohtani
This is the second major financial scandal for Ohtani, who is widely considered one of the best baseball players in the world. His ex-interpreter was "sentenced to 57 months in prison for stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani," said ESPN, in a controversy that had some initially questioning Ohtani despite his denial of any knowledge.
This also comes in the aftermath of Balelo being "behind Ohtani's free agent deal with the Dodgers, which is one of the most lucrative — and management-friendly — contracts in MLB history," said NBC News. At the time, the deal was "reported to be the biggest contract in baseball history, at $700 million for 10 seasons." He is also set to earn "$100 million in endorsements in 2025 alone, tops among MLB players," said The Athletic.
But despite the controversy around his finances, the lawyers currently suing him have "left the door open for Ohtani to have once again been a victim of someone in his inner circle bringing him legal trouble," said SFGate. It is "uncertain at this time whether his agent's alleged contractual interference and misdeeds were even known to Mr. Ohtani at the time, or whether he may have himself been misled by Mr. Balelo — but we aim to find out," attorneys for the developers said to the outlet.
The status of the deal is unclear, but Ohtani's interest in Hawaii has been longstanding; The Wall Street Journal first reported in 2024 that he was looking to build a home in the state, which is a "beautiful blend of Pacific Ocean cultures" and a "special place — a place I will soon call home," Ohtani said in a press release. The Vista at Mauna Kea's website still lists Ohtani as "our first resident."
