Baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter sentenced to nearly five years in betting-linked theft

LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, who admitted stealing almost US$17 million (S$23 million) from the Japanese baseball star to pay off illegal gambling debts, was sentenced to 57 months in prison on Feb 6.

Ippei Mizuhara was also ordered to pay restitution of more than US$18.1 million in his sentencing in federal court in Santa Ana, California.

He pleaded guilty in June to one count of bank fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. The bank fraud charge alone could have carried a prison sentence of up to 30 years.

Mizuhara was ordered to surrender to the authorities on March 24. After his prison sentence, he will be subject to three years of supervised release.

He said he was “truly sorry to Mr Ohtani”, repeating the remorseful words he had written in a letter to the court before his sentencing.

The sentencing by US District Judge John Holcomb caps a scandal that rocked Major League Baseball at the beginning of the 2024 season.

Ohtani, whose pitching and hitting skills have drawn comparisons to Babe Ruth, had signed the richest contract in North American sports history to join the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023.

The deal was worth US$700 million.

Mizuhara, who had worked with Ohtani for six years while he was with the Los Angeles Angels, came with him to the Dodgers, but the team fired him last April following accusations of theft.

Mizuhara initially said Ohtani, 30, had loaned him money to repay gambling debts.

But investigators found that he had stolen the money, with prosecutors saying he siphoned millions from Ohtani to finance an “insatiable appetite” for illegal sports gambling.

Prosecutors stressed throughout the case that Ohtani was an innocent victim of Mizuhara’s deception and there was no evidence to suggest the Dodgers star was aware of or involved in illegal gambling.

Mizuhara admitted to spending the money on bets with an illegal bookmaker, on hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards and on dental work.

“The magnitude of the theft, the US$17 million, in my view, is shocking,” Judge Holcomb said.

“Seventeen million is more than most people make in their lifetimes, in many, many lifetimes.”

Mizuhara, 40, was ordered to pay some US$17 million to Ohtani and US$1.1 million to the US Internal Revenue Service.

“I hope that Mr Mizuhara will be able to repay that sum,” the judge added.

Prosecutors had recommended the 57-month sentence while Mizuhara’s lawyer, citing his gambling addiction, had sought an 18-month sentence.

However, prosecutors said in court filings that Mizuhara’s actions went beyond gambling and added that the harm caused to Ohtani warranted a significant prison sentence.

“Defendant betrayed Mr Ohtani’s trust, causing him financial, reputational, and emotional harm,” they said.

“Let there be no doubt Mr Ohtani is truly a victim and has suffered and will continue to suffer harm from (the) defendant’s conduct.”
AFP