Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, was sentenced Thursday to 57 months in prison for bank and tax fraud after stealing close to $17 million from Ohtani. Mizuhara must also pay $16,975,010 in restitution to Ohtani and $1,149,400 to the IRS. He also faces three years of supervised release. Mizuhara pleaded guilty last month.
“[Mizuhara’s] years-long theft of funds from Mr. Ohtani and the myriad lies he told to Mr. Ohtani’s agents and financial advisors to cover up his theft represent a calculated betrayal of the very person he was hired to help,” prosecutors wrote in court papers (via NBC Sports Los Angeles). “… Let there be no doubt, Mr. Ohtani is truly a victim and has suffered, and will continue to suffer, harm from defendant’s conduct.”
Mizuhara, who requested an 18-month sentence, will begin serving the 57-month — the sentence prosecutors sought — on March 24. Both prosecutors and Mizuhara’s attorney expect him to be deported after he finishes serving his sentence, according to The Athletic. Mizuhara is a lawful permanent resident, not a United States citizen.
Ippei Mizuhara allegedly impersonates Shohei Ohtani to make $200,000 transfer on leaked bank call
Dayn Perry
Mizuhara, who had worked with Ohtani since he signed with the Los Angeles Angels for the 2018 MLB season, was fired a day into the 2024 MLB season after the gambling scandal broke on March 20. The league formally launched an investigation soon thereafter and Ohtani denied that he had placed any bets or had any knowledge of Mizuhara’s gambling.
“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies,” Ohtani said soon after the scandal became public. “The first time I knew about Ippei’s gambling was after the first game when we had the team meeting in the clubhouse.”
“I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting,” Mizuhara said in an interview soon thereafter. “I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again.”
Mizuhara racked up tens of millions of dollars in gambling debts to an illegal bookmaker and funneled the money through casinos. He had also been illicitly withdrawing money from Ohtani’s bank accounts, including impersonating Ohtani on the phone with the bank and having access to all pertinent passwords and codes.
Mizuhara originally faced a maximum sentence of 33 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $1,250,000 in addition to providing restitution to Ohtani and the IRS. He bet on NBA, NFL, international soccer, and college football games.
Prosecutors tallied Mizuhara’s winnings at about $142 million and losses at about $182 million, good for a net loss of more than $40 million. He averaged 25 bets per day, with an average bet amount of $12,800.
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