Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, has been charged in federal court in Los Angeles with charges related to the theft of $16 million from Ohtani to pay off his “substantial gambling debts,” prosecutors announced on April 11, 2024.
The 39-year-old Mizuhara was charged with bank fraud, a felony with a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada announced in a press release. The full criminal complaint can be read here.
“According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, from November 2021 to January 2024, Mizuhara wired more than $16 million in unauthorized transfers from a checking account belong to an MLB player identified in the affidavit as “Victim A,” who in fact is MLB star Shohei Ohtani. The transfers from this bank account allegedly were made from devices and IP addresses associated with Mizuhara, who served as Ohtani’s translator and de facto manager,” the press release from the prosecutor’s office stated. “In 2018, Mizuhara accompanied Ohtani, who didn’t speak English, to a bank branch in Arizona to assist Ohtani in opening the account and translated for Ohtani when setting up the account details.
The press release added, “Ohtani’s salary from playing professional baseball was deposited into this account and he never gave Mizuhara control of this or any of his other financial accounts, according to the affidavit. Mizuhara allegedly told Ohtani’s U.S.-based financial professionals, none of whom spoke Japanese, that Ohtani denied them access to the account.”
According to prosecutors, “In September 2021, Mizuhara began gambling with an illegal sports book and, several months later, started losing substantial sums of money, the affidavit states. During this time, the contact information on Ohtani’s bank account allegedly was changed to link the account to Mizuhara’s phone number and to an anonymous email address connected to Mizuhara.”
Mizuhara met Ohtani while he was interpreting for an American player in Japan in 2013 and he became Ohtani’s interpreter when he joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2017. The Dodgers announced on March 20, 2024, that Mizuhara had been fired after the Los Angeles Times revealed he was tied to an investigation into Matthew Bowyer, who was accused of being a bookmaker in an illegal betting ring. It is the same investigation that has led to federal charges against former Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig.
Mizuhara initially told ESPN that Ohtani helped him pay off his debts to the bookmaker, but Ohtani’s representatives issued a statement saying that Ohtani was the victim of a “massive theft.” Ohtani spoke to the media on March 27 that he has “never bet on baseball or any other sport” and said he was “beyond shocked” by the accusations against his friend and interpreter, adding, “It’s hard to verbalize how I am feeling at this point.”
Ohtani, the MLB and the Dodgers have not commented about the charges against Mizuhara and Mizhuara’s attorney has also not released a statement. The MLB is also investigating the accusations.
Ippei Mizuhara Pretended to Be Shohei Ohtani to Trick Bank Employees Into Authorizing Wire Transfers to His Bookie, Prosecutors Say
Christian Petersen/GettyShohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara.
According to the press release, Mizuhara, “also telephoned the bank and falsely identified himself as Ohtani to trick bank employees into authorizing wire transfers from Ohtani’s bank account to associates of the illegal gambling operation.”
Prosecutors added, “From January 2024 to March 2024, he also allegedly used this same account to purchase via eBay and Whatnot approximately 1,000 baseball cards – at a cost of approximately $325,000 – and had them mailed to Mizuhara under an alias, ‘Jay Min,’ and mailed to the clubhouse for Ohtani’s current MLB team.”
Federal prosecutors said in the release, “Mizuhara is expected to appear in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles for his initial appearance in the near future.” They added, “IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Jeff Mitchell of the Major Frauds Section, Dan Boyle of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section, and Rachel N. Agress of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.”
Shohei Ohtani, Who Was Interviewed by Federal Investigators, Told Reporters ‘Ippei Has Been Stealing Money From My Account & Told Lies
Ohtani spoke to reporters in Los Angeles on March 27 and said in his statement that he learned about everything while he and the Dodgers were on their trip to Korea for the first two games of the 2024 MLB season. Ohtani told reporters, “Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies. Last weekend in Korea, media had reached out to a representative in my camp inquiring about my potential involvement in sports betting. So, Ippei never revealed to me that there was this media inquiry, and to the representatives in my camp he told, Ippei told, to the media and to my representatives that I, on behalf of a friend, paid off debt.”
Ohtani added, “Upon further questioning, it was revealed that it was actually, in fact, Ippei who was in debt. And told my representatives that I was paying off those debts. All of this has been a complete lie. So, Ippei obviously lied about — basically didn’t tell me about the media inquiry. So Ippei has been telling everybody around that Ippei has been communicating with Shohei on all of this account — to my representatives, to the team — and that hasn’t been true.”
Ohtani said he first learned about his interpreter’s gambling issues alongside his teammates at a meeting in Korea. He said Mizuhara was speaking in English and he didn’t have his own translator, so he “kind of understood what was going on and started to feel that there was something amiss.”
He added, “Up until that team meeting, I didn’t know that Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in debt. Obviously at that point, or, obviously I never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker. And finally, when we went back to the hotel and talked one-to-one, that’s when I found out that he had a massive debt. And it was revealed to me during that meeting that Ippei admitted that he was sending money, using my account, to the bookmaker.”
Ohtani’s statement also said, “And at that moment, obviously it was an absurd thing that was happening and I contacted my representatives at that point. So, when I was finally able to talk to my representatives, that’s when my representatives found out that Ippei has been lying the whole time, and that’s when I started contacting the Dodgers and my lawyers. And the Dodgers and the lawyers at that moment found out also as well that they have been lied to. And my lawyers recommended that since this is theft and fraud that we have the proper authorities handle this matter.”
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