As Shohei Ohtani was beginning his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he and former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara became an the center of an illegal sports gambling scandal.
Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers during the Seoul Series for his involvement with gambling and it was later determined he stole roughly $17 million from Ohtani to pay for his gambling debts.
Ohtani was cleared of any wrongdoing by multiple federal agencies and U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said Ohtani was considered a victim of theft.
Mizuhara was arrested by federal authorities and pled guilty to bank and tax fraud in early June, but had his sentencing delayed multiple times.
Now, Mizuhara was sentenced to nearly five years in prison and ordered to pay Ohtani back the nearly $17 million he stole, according to Sam Blum of the Athletic:
News: Ippei Mizuhara was sentenced to 57 months in prison. Beginning on March 24.
He will have three years of supervised release and is ordered to pay restitution of nearly $17 million to Shohei a Ohtani.
Gov’t got the sentence they requested. Mizuhara asked for 18 months.
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) February 6, 2025
The Judge specifically noted Ippei Mizuhara’s pre-sentence letter to the court.
The Judge said Mizuhara misled the court and omitted key facts.
Mizuhara apologized to Ohtani and others in a brief statement before sentencing.
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) February 6, 2025
Mizuhara faced a maximum sentence of 33 years and the possibility of deportation because he is not a U.S. citizen. The expectation is Mizuhara will be deported after he serves his time in prison:
Both Mizuhara’s attorney and prosecuting attorneys said they expect Mizuhara to be deported after his sentence.
Mizuhara is a lawful permanent resident but not a U.S. citizen.
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) February 6, 2025
In addition to stealing funds from Ohtani to pay off his gambling debts, Mizuhara bought several autographed Ohtani cards from online resale platforms with the intention to resell them himself.
Those cards were given to Ohtani by a court order after they were seized by federal authorities.
Mizuhara had served as Ohtani’s interpreter since the two-time American League MVP Award winner made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018.
Facts related to Ippei Mizuhara gambling and bank fraud
The IRS and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, along with U.S. Attorney Estrada, held a press conference last year to discuss the matter and released their full findings of the investigation.
Mizuhara first began gambling in Sept. 2021 and lost substantial sums of money.
Between November 2021 and January 2024, funds north of $16 million were transferred via wire from a checking account belonging to Ohtani.
Ohtani did not authorize any transfers from the account, which were made from devices and IP addresses associated with Mizuhara.
Recorded phone calls with one of the banks revealed that Mizuhara impersonated Ohtani in several phone calls. Attempting to open up funds to use for his own personal use via wire transfer.
Records reflect total winning bets of $142,256,769.74, and total losing bets of $182,935,206.68, leaving a total net balance of negative $40,678,436.94.
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