Baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter Ippei Mizuhara lost US$183 million gambling, to plead guilty in betting case
- Mizuhara to plead guilty to bank and tax fraud over US$17 million theft from LA Dodgers star
- Bank fraud charge carries a maximum of 30 years in federal prison, with tax offence carrying three-year term
The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani will plead guilty to bank and tax fraud in a sports betting case in which prosecutors allege he stole nearly US$17 million from the Japanese baseball player to pay off debts, federal prosecutors said.
The scandal surrounding Ippei Mizuhara shocked baseball fans from the US to Japan when the news broke in March.
Mizuhara has agreed to plead guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return, the US Justice Department said on Wednesday.
The bank fraud charge carries a maximum of 30 years in federal prison, and the false tax return a sentence of up to three years in federal prison.
Under the agreement, Mizuhara will be required to pay Ohtani restitution that could total nearly US$17 million, as well as more than US$1 million to the IRS. Those amounts could change before sentencing.
Mizuhara will enter his guilty plea in the coming weeks and is set to be arraigned May 14, prosecutors said.
“The extent of this defendant’s deception and theft is massive,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “He took advantage of his position of trust to take advantage of Mr Ohtani and fuel a dangerous gambling habit.”
Mizuhara exploited his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to plunder millions from the two-way player’s account for years, at times impersonating Ohtani to bankers, prosecutors said.
While his winning bets totalled more than US$142 million, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani’s, his loses were around US$183 million. He did not wager on baseball.
Mizuhara helped Ohtani open a bank account in 2018 and began stealing money from that account in 2021, according to the plea agreement.
At one point, Mizuhara changed the security protocols, email and phone number associated with it so that calls came directly to him, not Ohtani, when the bank was trying to verify wire transfers. Mizuhara impersonated Ohtani to the bank about 24 times, according to the agreement.
Mizuhara also admitted to falsifying his 2022 tax returns by under-reporting his income by more than US$4 million.
Mizuhara’s lawyer, Michael G Freedman, did not comment on the deal Wednesday.
There was no evidence that Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara’s gambling, and the player was cooperating with investigators, authorities said.
