Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for MLB star Shohei Ohtani, has admitted to committing bank fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice revealed that Mizuhara has agreed to plead guilty to stealing almost $17 million from Ohtani. Mizuhara’s motive for the theft was to cover his gambling debts.
Mizuhara, aged 39, has reached an agreement to plead guilty to bank fraud, a charge that could result in a maximum prison sentence of 30 years. Additionally, he has also agreed to plead guilty to subscribing to a false tax return, which could lead to a prison term of up to three years. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California has confirmed these details. Mizuhara is anticipated to enter his plea in the upcoming weeks, with an arraignment set for May 14 as per the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“The magnitude of this defendant’s deceit and embezzlement is enormous,” stated U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “He exploited his trusted position to prey on Mr. Ohtani and sustain a perilous gambling addiction. Our office is steadfast in seeking justice for victims in our community and ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable.”
Mizuhara assisted Ohtani, who does not speak English, in establishing a bank account in Phoenix in 2018. During this process, Mizuhara provided interpretation services for the player’s account login information. However, in September 2021, Mizuhara began placing sports bets with an illegal bookmaker and soon found himself in significant debt, as stated in the plea agreement.
According to a release from the Department of Justice, Mizuhara devised a plan to deceive and defraud the bank in order to illegally acquire money from the account due to his inability to repay his gambling debts.
According to the plea agreement, Mizuhara manipulated Ohtani’s bank account by accessing it and modifying the security information. This was done in order to ensure that the bank employees would contact Mizuhara instead of Ohtani when verifying wire transfers from the account. Additionally, the plea agreement states that Mizuhara impersonated Ohtani in a total of 24 phone calls to the bank.
According to the plea agreement, Mizuhara transferred almost $17 million from the account to associates of the bookmaker in over 40 wires without Ohtani’s permission between November 2021 and March 2024.
In the plea agreement, Mizuhara also confessed to falsely stating that his total taxable income for 2022 amounted to $136,865. However, he failed to report an additional $4.1 million in income.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the unreported income stemmed from his fraudulent bank scheme. The DOJ highlighted that he is liable for around $1,149,400 in extra taxes for the tax year 2022, along with additional interest and penalties.
Estrada emphasized that Ohtani is a victim in the case and has fully and completely cooperated in the investigation.
The Dodgers made the decision to terminate their Japanese interpreter on March 20 following the emergence of the gambling controversy. The team did not disclose the exact reason for Mizuhara’s dismissal.
Mizuhara faced charges in the case last month. After his first court appearance on April 12, his attorney, Michael Freedman, released a statement to ABC News, expressing Mizuhara’s cooperation with the legal process and his hope to reach an agreement with the government to resolve the case promptly and take responsibility.
“He is expressing his sincere apologies to Mr. Ohtani, the Dodgers, Major League Baseball, and his family,” the statement further expressed. “As mentioned during the court proceedings, he is also determined to pursue treatment for his gambling addiction.”
During a press conference on March 25, Ohtani spoke out about the scandal for the first time. Expressing his emotions through an interpreter, he stated, “I am deeply saddened and shocked by the actions of someone I trusted.”
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