Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, is facing potential prison time after pleading guilty to bank and tax fraud, stemming from nearly $17 million he stole from Ohtani's bank account to cover sports betting debts. As reported by NBC Los Angeles, federal authorities have proposed four years and nine months sentence for Mizuhara, with restitution payments of $17 million to Ohtani and an additional $1 million to the Internal Revenue Service.
Details from CBS News indicate Mizuhara manipulated Ohtani's bank account information, which began in November 2021, linking it to an anonymous email and his phone number to authorize the unauthorized wire transfers; during this time Mizuhara began to lose substantial sums of money to an illegal sports book and in a desperate effort to continue funding his gambling habit, he resorted to securing the stolen funds by impersonating Ohtani on calls to banks, even at one point falsely claiming the money was for a car loan.
The misappropriated funds were not only used to cover betting charges, as Mizuhara allegedly splurged on $325,000 worth of baseball cards, outlined in information from ABC News. Despite the extensive betting, which included an estimated 19,000 wagers ranging from $10 to $160,000, Mizuhara's attorney stated that his client never placed bets on baseball. The attorney also mentioned that following his prison time, Mizuhara anticipates deportation back to Japan.
Adding a personal dimension to the case, Mizuhara expressed his regret in a letter to the court, saying "I truly admire Shohei as a baseball player and a human being and I was committed to devote my life so Shohei can be the best version of himself on the field. I want to say I am truly sorry for violating his trust in me," according to court papers obtained by NBC Los Angeles. Federal prosecutors paint a different picture, elucidating how Mizuhara’s actions have delivered lasting harm to Ohtani, both financially and personally, indicating the severity of his betrayal.
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