By PAUL ANDERSON
Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter pleaded guilty Tuesday in Santa Ana federal court to charges of stealing nearly $17 million from the Dodger slugger’s bank account to pay off illegal gambling debts.
Ippei Mizuhara, 39, pleaded guilty to one federal count each of bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return. The bank fraud charge carries a possible prison term of up to 30 years, while the tax charge carries up to three years in federal prison.
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“I worked for (Ohtani) and I had access to his accounts,” Mizuhara said during the hearing as he entered his plea. “I fell into gambling debt and the only way I could think of was to access his money. I wired money for my gambling debt from his account.”
U.S. District Judge John Holcomb scheduled sentencing for Oct. 25.
“We have not decided what we will seek at sentencing,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said at a news conference following Tuesday’s court hearing.
According to the plea deal, Mizuhara has agreed to waive his appellate rights if he receives a sentence above an offense level of 25, which would put the range of punishment between 57 and 71 months.
Mizuhara surrendered to federal authorities on April 12 and was released on $25,000 bond. He signed his plea agreement May 5.
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With Tuesday’s guilty plea, Major League Baseball also officially closed its investigation into the matter, clearing Ohtani of any wrongdoing or involvement in gambling activities.
“Based on the thoroughness of the federal investigation that was made public, the information MLB collected, and the criminal proceeding being resolved without being contested, MLB considers Shohei Ohtani a victim of fraud and this matter has been closed,” according to a statement from the league.
Ohtani issued a statement saying, “Now that the investigation has been completed, this full admission of guilt has brought important closure to me and my family. I want to sincerely thank the authorities for finishing their thorough and effective investigation so quickly and uncovering all of the evidence. This has been a uniquely challenging time, so I am especially grateful for my support team — my family, agent, agency, lawyers, and advisors along with the entire Dodger organization, who showed endless support throughout this process. It’s time to close this chapter, move on and continue to focus on playing and winning ballgames.”
The Dodgers also issued a statement, saying, “With today’s plea in the criminal proceedings against Ippei Mizuhara and the conclusion of both federal and MLB investigations, the Dodgers are pleased that Shohei and the team can put this entire matter behind them and move forward in pursuit of a World Series title.”
When the criminal case was announced, Estrada said Mizuhara had an “insatiable appetite” for illegal sports betting, which landed him millions of dollars in debt to a bookmaker and led him to transfer money out of Ohtani’s bank account without the slugger’s knowledge.
Mizuhara worked as an interpreter for Ohtani since the slugger joined the Angels organization six years ago. In that capacity, he helped Ohtani set up a bank account in Phoenix, Arizona, which eventually became the source of wire transfers to the illegal gambling operation, Estrada said.
Mizuhara acted as Ohtani’s “de facto manager,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Mitchell said in court Tuesday. Ohtani would pay him “separately for additional work,” Mitchell added.
Estrada stressed that Ohtani was a victim in the case and had no knowledge of Mizuhara’s actions.
According to Estrada, Mizuhara also lied to bank officials, and was captured on tape-recorded calls impersonating Ohtani to “convince the bank to approve large wire transfers of large amounts of money to the bookmakers.”
Estrada said Mizuhara acted “to plunder” Ohtani’s bank account to satisfy his “insatiable appetite for illegal sports betting,” and he “committed fraud on a massive scale.”
According to an affidavit filed in federal court by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations special agent Chris Seymour, records obtained from a source within the illegal gambling operation showed that between December 2021 and January 2024, about 19,000 wagers were attributed to Mizuhara, averaging roughly 25 per day and ranging in amounts from about $10 to $160,000.
During that period, the records showed Mizuhara had winning bets worth nearly $142.3 million, and losing bets of $182.9 million, leaving him with a roughly $40.7 million deficit.
Mitchell said that Mizuhara began placing bets with the illegal gambling operation in September 2021. At about that time, bank records showed that the contact information on the Arizona bank account, which was opened in March 2018, was changed to a phone number and email linked to Mizuhara.
Mitchell said Mizuhara “recalled” Ohtani’s password for the bank account and signed into the account online and changed security protocols so the defendant would receive emails and phone calls from the bank about the account.
To verify the wire transfers, the defendant “impersonated” Ohtani, Mitchell said. On Feb. 2, 2022, he was called by the bank when a wire transfer was denied, so he said it was for a car loan and when the bank texted him a message to confirm he read back the code to the teller, Mitchell said.
He did the same 24 times from December 2021 through March of this year, Mitchell said.
When he needed $60,000 in dental work in September of last year, Ohtani wrote a check for him, but when it came time for payment, Mizuhara gave the dentist Ohtani’s debit card number and pocketed the check, Mitchell said.
Mizuhara also bought $325,000 in baseball cards, including players such as Yogi Berra to Juan Soto to Ohtani that he planned to resell, Mitchell said.
The Dodgers fired Mizuhara earlier this year when news of the criminal investigation broke.
At a Dodger Stadium news conference when news of the investigation broke, Ohtani denied any knowledge of Mizuhara’s actions. He also vehemently denied that he was involved in any gambling activity.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to bet on my behalf,” he insisted.
Ohtani said Mizuhara “has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.”
Estrada said none of the illegal bets allegedly placed by Mizuhara were on baseball games.
According to various reports, wire transfers were made from Ohtani’s bank account to an illegal bookmaking operation allegedly run by Orange County resident Mathew Bowyer, who is under federal investigation.
Bowyer’s San Juan Capistrano home was searched by federal agents last year.
The false tax return charge stems from 2022, when Mizuhara falsified his taxable income by claiming only $136,865, when in fact the figure was more than $4.1 million stemming from his bank fraud, prosecutors said. He admits in his plea agreement that he owes more than $1.1 million in taxes for 2022.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 4, 2024
