Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, pleaded guilty to two felony charges of bank fraud and filing a false tax return and was ordered to pay nearly $17 million in restitution to Ohtani, according to details of a plea agreement filed Wednesday.
Mizuhara, 39, faced up to 33 years in federal prison had his case gone to trial after federal agents alleged he stole millions of dollars from Ohtani and funneled them to an illegal bookmaker to cover his gambling debts. As part of Mizuhara’s agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, prosecutors will recommend a two-level reduction in Mizuhara’s prison term.
With the reduction and Mizuhara’s status as a first-time offender, the recommended prison sentence would range from seven to nine years, according to the Washington Post, although the agreement stipulates that prosecutors cannot guarantee the length of sentence once he goes before a judge for sentencing in the Central District of California.
Mizuhara also must pay a $1.15 million fine to the Internal Revenue Service, after he failed to report more than $4 million in income — ostensibly thieved from Ohtani — in tax year 2022 and then knowingly signed a false return.
Michael Freedman, Mizuhara’s attorney, declined comment Wednesday.
Shohei Ohtani (right) and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara attend an NFL game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 21, 2023.
Mizuhara’s plea puts much of the burgeoning scandal behind Ohtani, who was befriended by Mizuhara a decade ago and retained him when he switched Los Angeles clubs this off-season, agreeing to a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December after six seasons with the Angels.
Yet the relationship among Ohtani, the Dodgers and Mizuhara fractured just as it began, when ESPN reported in March that Mizuhara used Ohtani’s bank account to cover millions of dollars in gambling losses to an alleged operation run by Orange County resident Mathew Bowyer.
Mizuhara claimed he never bet on baseball and gave conflicting answers to ESPN regarding Ohtani’s knowledge of his thievery. The Dodgers fired Mizuhara after their first game of the season, played in Seoul, South Korea, and Mizuhara surrendered his cell phone to federal agents upon returning to the USA.
That resulted in a 37-page indictment that cast a grim light on Mizuhara’s gambling habits, frequently requesting to bookmakers that his credit limit be raised.
Mizuhara’s bank fraud spanned November 2021 to March 2024, according to federal prosecutors, and began after he changed a registered email address and phone number on Ohtani’s account from the then-Los Angeles Angel to himself. Prosecutors say Mizuhara did not “notify, or seek permission from, Victim A before transferring money from the account.”
Mizuhara aided in interpreting when Ohtani opened the Bank of America account in February 2018, shortly after joining the Angels after a decorated career in Japan.
The agreement also states that Mizuhara must forfeit all assets “derived from or acquired as a result of” illegal activity, including “collectible baseball cards and sports memorabilia.” Prosecutors say Mizuhara purchased approximately $325,000 of baseball cards between January and March 2024, including valuable cards featuring Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, Yankees slugger Juan Soto and Ohtani.
