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AP, SANTA ANA, California
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account.
Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year.
He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was also sentenced to three years’ supervised release on top of the prison sentence and ordered to surrender to authorities by March 24.
Photo: AFP
“The magnitude of the theft — [US]$17 million — in my view, is shockingly high,” US District Judge John Holcomb said upon issuing the sentence.
Holcomb said most people do not make that much money in their lifetime.
“I hope that Mr Mizuhara will be able to repay that sum,” Holcomb said. “That remains to be seen.”
Mizuhara addressed the court and apologized to Ohtani, the Dodgers, the US government and his family.
“I am truly, deeply sorry for what I have done,” Mizuhara said. “I am prepared to be punished for it.”
Mizuhara has acknowledged using the money to cover gambling bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker, in addition to US$325,000 of baseball cards and his own dental bills.
His attorney declined to comment after the hearing.
Acting US Attorney Joseph McNally told reporters outside court that Mizuhara took advantage of Ohtani’s vulnerability as a non-English speaker trying to navigate the world of celebrity baseball — a high-profile example of something that is all too common.
“Mr. Mizuhara lied, he cheated and he stole,” McNally said. “His behavior was shameless.”
Mizuhara’s attorney, Michael Freedman, had asked for a sentence of one-and-a-half years.
During the sentencing hearing, he asked that the judge consider his client’s gambling addiction was challenged by his connection to a bookie willing to credit him large sums of money because of who he worked for.
“He was exposed to a world in which he was given a unique and unlimited credit to run up these kinds of numbers,” Freedman said.
Federal prosecutor Jeff Mitchell said the amount stolen by Mizuhara amounted to about half of what Ohtani earned from the Los Angeles Angels when he pitched for them, and the damage went even further.
“The most significant harm to Mr Ohtani is the reputational damage, which may never be fully repaired,” Mitchell said.
The case stemmed from a broader probe into illegal sports bookmaking organizations in southern California and the laundering of proceeds through casinos in Las Vegas.
Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s account beginning in 2021 and changed its security protocols so he could impersonate him to authorize wire transfers.
By last year, Mizuhara had used the money to buy about US$325,000 of baseball cards at online resellers and had bet tens of millions of dollars that were not his to wager on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football.
Prosecutors said that Mizuhara never bet on baseball.
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