Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, has agreed to plead guilty in federal court to stealing millions of dollars from Ohtani to cover gambling debts, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The 39-year-old Japanese-language interpreter has reached a plea deal for one count each of bank fraud and subscribing to a federal tax return, the Justice Department said. Mizuhara faces up to 33 years in federal prison for the two crimes, which authorities allege he committed as part of a scheme to surreptitiously steal more than $17 million from Ohtani to pay off an Orange County bookmaker.
The blockbuster March revelation that the Dodgers had fired Mizuhara amid an investigation into claims he had stolen Ohtani’s money and gambled on sports shocked the baseball world. Last month, federal authorities cleared Ohtani of wrongdoing in connection with the scheme, quieting widespread speculation about the potential fallout of the scandal for his baseball career and potential criminal charges.
Mizuhara has not yet formally entered a plea, according to Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesman for the DOJ. McEvoy said Wednesday he expects Mizuhara to “plead guilty in the coming weeks.”
“The extent of this defendant’s deception and theft is massive,” U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada said in a news release. “He took advantage of his position of trust to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani and fuel a dangerous gambling habit. My office is committed to vindicating victims throughout our community and ensuring that wrongdoers face justice.”
Ippei Mizuhara, ex-interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, pleads guilty in sports betting case
Updated: 1:50 PM PDT May 8, 2024
The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud Wednesday in a sports betting case where prosecutors allege he stole $16 million from the Japanese baseball player to pay off debts.The scandal surrounding Ippei Mizuhara shocked baseball fans from the U.S. to Japan when the news broke in March. He was initially charged with one count of bank fraud, which carries a potential 30-year prison sentence.Mizuhara exploited his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to plunder millions from the two-way player’s account for years, at times impersonating Ohtani to bankers, prosecutors said. Mizuhara’s winning bets totaled over $142 million, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani’s. But his losing bets were around $183 million, a net loss of nearly $41 million. He did not wager on baseball.There was no evidence that Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara’s gambling, and the player is cooperating with investigators, authorities said.
LOS ANGELES —
The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud Wednesday in a sports betting case where prosecutors allege he stole $16 million from the Japanese baseball player to pay off debts.
The scandal surrounding Ippei Mizuhara shocked baseball fans from the U.S. to Japan when the news broke in March. He was initially charged with one count of bank fraud, which carries a potential 30-year prison sentence.
Mizuhara exploited his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to plunder millions from the two-way player’s account for years, at times impersonating Ohtani to bankers, prosecutors said. Mizuhara’s winning bets totaled over $142 million, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani’s. But his losing bets were around $183 million, a net loss of nearly $41 million. He did not wager on baseball.
There was no evidence that Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara’s gambling, and the player is cooperating with investigators, authorities said.
Shohei Ohtani is still just playing baseball after being all but cleared in the Ippei Mizuhara scandal. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
If you were curious about what exactly happened to Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s money after it was allegedly stolen by his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, a new report from ESPN’s Tisha Thompson has shed new light on the situation.
The man at the center of the alleged illegal gambling ring that received Ohtani’s money was Mathew Bowyer, who has been under investigation by federal authorities since last year. Ohtani was only roped into the scandal when authorities noticed his bank information among the payments to Bowyer.
Bowyer and the associate would then allegedly convert the money to playing chips, gamble with it and cash out if they won. Bowyer reportedly lost $7.9 million at Resorts World from June 2022 to October 2023, a span of time in which he was receiving money from Mizuhara.
This is all apparently part of a much larger trend in the gambling world in which illegal bookies in Southern California use Las Vegas casinos to launder money. Twelve people have reportedly been charged and convicted, while two Vegas casinos have agreed to pay fines.
There’s even a tangential connection to LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers star’s friend and business partner, Maverick Carter, reportedly admitted late last year that he bet on NBA games via an illegal bookie. ESPN reports that bookie, Wayne Nix, has since pleaded guilty to operating an illegal gambling business and filing a false tax return. NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen and former MLB star Yasiel Puig also reportedly made bets through Nix.
In the case of Bowyer, he reportedly boasted more than 600 bettors and was known as a whale in Vegas, with a reputation for bringing between $250,000 and $1 million with him as often as two or three times per month.
Where does the Shohei Ohtani scandal currently stand?
As far as Ohtani, the Dodgers and MLB, the Ippei Mizuhara situation is in the rear-view mirror.
Today Mr. Mizuhara voluntarily surrendered, made his initial appearance, and was released on bond as agreed to with the government. He is continuing to cooperate with the legal process and is hopeful that he can reach an agreement with the government to resolve this case as quickly as possible so that he can take responsibility.
He wishes to apologize to Mr. Ohtani, the Dodgers, Major League Baseball, and his family. As noted in court, he is also eager to seek treatment for his gambling. We have no further comment at this time, but Mr. Mizuhara will be providing further comment as the legal process proceeds.
To date, no reports of a deal have materialized, but that doesn’t mean negotiations aren’t happening.
This is about as good of an outcome as Ohtani and his people could have hoped for after his name popped up on an illegal bookie’s ledger, but it remains a very sad situation. It has become clear that Mizuhara was both very close to Ohtani and suffered from enormous issues with gambling addiction.
LOS ANGELES — Ippei Mizuhara, former longtime interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, has surrendered to law enforcement and is now in federal custody, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said.
He is expected to appear in federal court Friday afternoon.
The video is from a previous report.
Federal authorities charged the former longtime interpreter for Ohtani on Thursday with federal bank fraud, alleging that he stole more than $16 million from the Japanese sensation to cover gambling bets and debts.
Mizuhara, a constant presence beside Ohtani in baseball stadiums across the country since 2018, abused the two-way player’s trust in him and exploited the language barrier to plunder a bank account that only he could access, prosecutors said.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said Mizuhara was so intertwined in Ohtani’s life and career that he became the star’s “de facto manager.” The role enabled him to withdraw money from the account – at times lying and impersonating Ohtani to bank employees – to finance his “insatiable appetite for illegal sports betting.”
Thursday’s announcement, at a packed news conference in downtown Los Angeles, ended weeks of speculation about Mizuhara’s self-admitted gambling problems, the wide-ranging federal investigation and Ohtani’s role in the scandal.
Estrada said that there is no evidence that Ohtani was aware of his interpreter’s actions, adding that Ohtani has cooperated with investigators.
“I want to emphasize this point: Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case,” he said.
The criminal complaint – detailing the scheme through text messages, financial records and recordings of phone calls – showed even Mizuhara knew the game was over. In a message to his illegal bookmaker on March 20, the day the Los Angeles Times and ESPN broke the news of the investigation, he wrote: “Technically I did steal from him. it’s all over for me.”
Mizuhara faces up to 30 years in federal prison if he’s convicted of a single count of bank fraud. His attorney, Michael G. Freedman, declined to comment Thursday. Mizuhara’s first appearance in federal court is likely to occur this week.
The scale of the theft shocked the sports community, but also further absolved Ohtani from wrongdoing in baseball’s biggest gambling disgrace since Pete Rose was banned for life. Major League Baseball opened its own investigation after the controversy surfaced last month, and the Dodgers immediately fired Mizuhara.
“Given the information disclosed (Thursday), and other information we have already collected, we will wait until resolution of the criminal proceeding to determine whether further investigation is warranted,” MLB said in a statement.
MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from wagering – even legally – on baseball. MLB also bans betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.
Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels in December to sign a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. Ohtani and Mizuhara had been daily companions since Ohtani joined the Angels in 2018. Ohtani’s baseball salaries prior to the Dodgers deal totaled around $40 million, although it’s also expected he earns tens of millions at least in endorsements each year.
Federal investigators say Mizuhara made around 19,000 wagers between December 2021 and January 2024 – nearly 25 bets per day on average. The wagers ranged from roughly $10 to $160,000 per bet, averaging around $12,800. Estrada said investigators did not find any evidence Mizuhara had wagered on baseball.
While Mizuhara’s winning bets totaled over $142 million, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani’s, his losing bets were around $183 million – a net loss of nearly $41 million.
At one point, the bookmaker couldn’t reach Mizuhara and threatened to approach Ohtani, identified as Victim A in the criminal complaint.
“Hey Ippie, it’s 2 o’clock on Friday. I don’t know why you’re not returning my calls. I’m here in Newport Beach and I see (Victim A) walking his dog,” the bookmaker wrote to Mizuhara on Nov. 17, 2023. “I’m just gonna go up and talk to him and ask how I can get in touch with you since you’re not responding? Please call me back immediately.”
Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, is facing federal charges related to his alleged theft of millions from the Dodgers star.
The alleged fraud also spanned the lucrative memorabilia market. Investigators seized roughly 1,000 collectible baseball cards, including for such players as Yogi Berra, and discovered approximately $325,000 in transactions to online retailers from January to March. Authorities believe Mizuhara purchased the cards from the sites with the intent to resell them later.
Conflicting reports engulfed the beginning of the baseball season last month, prompting a swift move to filing the charge.
“We understood there was a significant amount of public interest in this case,” Estrada said.
Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani paid his gambling debts at the interpreter’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football.
But ESPN said Mizuhara changed his story the next day, saying Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.
Ohtani said he first became aware of Mizuhara’s gambling problem during a team meeting after the Dodgers’ March 20 win over the San Diego Padres in Seoul during MLB’s first game in South Korea.The LA Times and ESPN published their stories hours later.
Five days later, Ohtani told a Dodger Stadium press conference that he never bet on sports or knowingly paid any gambling debts accumulated by his interpreter. He placed responsibility entirely on Mizuhara, and refuted the interpreter’s inconsistent accounts of whether Ohtani had paid off Mizuhara’s gambling debts.
“I am very saddened and shocked someone whom I trusted has done this,” the Japanese star said through a new interpreter.
“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies,” Ohtani said. “I never bet on sports or have willfully sent money to the bookmaker.”
According to the criminal complaint, the Mizuhara case stemmed from a broader probe of illegal sports bookmaking organizations operating in Southern California and the laundering of proceeds through casinos in Las Vegas.
“To date, these investigations have led to criminal charges and/or convictions of 12 criminal defendants and one money service business, as well as non-prosecution agreements with two Las Vegas casinos,” the complaint said. “The investigations remain ongoing and have multiple targets, not all of whom are related to each other.”
Associated Press writer John Antczak contributed to this report.
LOS ANGELES—After months of speculation over his playing future, baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani announced Friday his plans to leave the Los Angeles Angels for a team in Major League Baseball. “It’s been an honor playing for the Angels, and I’ll be sad to leave, but like many great foreign players before me, I want to see how well I stack up against the best players in the world by joining a Major League Baseball team,” said Ohtani, who is expected to be the subject of a fierce bidding war as he joins the MLB, with teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros competing to sign the two-way star. “I also want to make sure I’m not a distraction for the other players on the Angels, especially since there have been so many MLB scouts coming to my games. I know the level of play in the major leagues will be much higher than what I’ve seen on the Angels, but I’m ready, and I’m really excited to finally be part of an MLB team. I want to take my time with my decision, though, because it would be great to find a team that I can spend my entire MLB career with.” Ohtani added that if his transition to a Major League Baseball team doesn’t pan out, he could always return to the Angels.
