Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter and manager, Ippei Mizuhara, has agreed to plead guilty on Thursday to charges of bank fraud for allegedly stealing almost $17 million from Ohtani’s accounts to cover gambling debts, the US Department of Justice announced.
ABC News first reported the development. Mizuhara’s arraignment is scheduled for May 14. Mizuhara’s attorney, Michael Freedman, said that he had no comment at this time. Spokesmen for the Dodgers and for Ohtani also declined comment.
Mizuhara will be pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud carrying a maximum sentence of 30 years, and one count of submitting a false tax return, which carries a maximum sentence of three years. The DOJ said in the plea agreement that it would recommend a reduced sentence if Mizuhara “demonstrates an acceptance of responsibility.” The judge will ultimately make the final sentencing determination.
The plea agreement states that it is expected that Mizuhara will almost certainly be deported to Japan, the country of his birth. Mizuhara has spent much of his life in the United States, attending school in Southern California.
“Defendant and his counsel have discussed the fact that, and defendant understands that, if defendant is not a United States citizen, the convictions in this case make it a practically inevitable and a virtual certainty that defendant will be removed or deported from the United States ,” the agreement reads.
Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on March 21 amid news reports that at least $4.5 million was wired from Ohtani’s accounts to an alleged illegal bookmaker, Mathew Bowyer. Ohtani accused Mizuhara of “massive theft,” alleging that Mizuhara had taken the money without his knowledge of him. Federal authorities charged Mizuhara with bank fraud on April 11, releasing a 37-page affidavit outlining how the former interpreter gained access to Ohtani’s accounts and used the money to “feed his insatiable appetite for illegal sports betting,” US Attorney Martin Estrada said.
“The extent of this defendant’s deception and theft is massive,” Estrada said in a statement Wednesday. “He took advantage of his position of trust to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani and fueled a dangerous gambling habit. “My office is committed to vindicating victims throughout our community and ensuring that wrongdoers face justice.”
According to the release, Mizuhara “fraudulently obtained” more than $16,975,010 from Ohtani’s account, which contained playing salaries from his contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Mizuhara could be required to pay restitution to Ohtani, although the exact amount has yet to be determined.
The plea agreement details much of the timeline of Mizuhara’s alleged theft. He first wired $40,010 on Nov. 15, 2021, and subsequently made 36 wire transfers totaling $15 million from Feb. 28, 2022 to October 13, 2023. His most recent wire transfer came on Jan. 8 of this year. Mizuhara allegedly impersonated Ohtani to the star’s bank on 24 occasions.
Mizuhara had worked for Ohtani dating to his arrival in the United States in 2018, when Ohtani hired Mizuhara as his de facto manager as well as his interpreter, according to court documents. Their relationship spanned longer than that, as Mizuhara worked for the Nippon Ham Fighters of NPB when Ohtani played professionally in Japan from 2013 to 2017. Their relationship was such that Mizuhara would often be required to make routine purchases for Ohtani, and on at least one occasion, Ohtani did agree to cover an expense for Mizuhara.
According to the plea agreement, Ohtani agreed to pay for Mizuhara’s dental work last September. Ohtani authorized a $60,000 check to Mizuhara for the dental work. However, according to court documents, Mizuhara paid for the procedure with Ohtani’s debit card, then pocketed the money from Ohtani’s check, depositing it into his own personal checking account.
Ohtani, who is in the first year of a new 10-year contract with the Dodgers after six seasons with the Angels, hasn’t addressed the subject in a public forum since giving a statement on March 25 in which he said he was “very saddened and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this.”
(Photo: Keith Birmingham / MediaNews Group / Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
