Former Ohtani Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara Sentenced to 57 Months for $17M Gambling Theft

^{Ippei Mizuhara leaves an LA courthouse after being sentenced to nearly five years in prison for stealing money from MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani to fund illicit gambling. (Image: BJ Warnick / Newscom / Alamy)}

US District Judge John W. Holcomb sentenced former Shohei Ohtani interpreter Ippei Mizuhara to nearly five years in prison on Thursday for stealing nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar.

Judge Holcomb also sentenced Mizuhara to three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay nearly $17 million to Ohtani, as well as an additional $1.1 million to the IRS.

Prosecutors Reject Claims of Gambling Addiction 

The 57-month sentence was for one count of bank fraud. Mizuhara also pleaded guilty to one count of subscribing to a false tax return, for which he was given a three-year sentence, which will be served concurrently.

Mizuhara, who served both as an interpreter and a de facto manager for Ohtani, admitted to making fraudulent transactions from Ohtani’s bank account for more than two years to cover gambling debts he accrued with Mathew Bowyer, an illegal bookmaker working out of Southern California.

The magnitude of the theft – $17 million – in my view, is shockingly high,” Holcomb said while issuing the sentence. “I hope that Mr. Mizuhara will be able to repay that sum. That remains to be seen.”

Mizuhara’s lawyer, Michael G. Freedman, had argued for only an 18-month sentence, suggesting that the theft was the consequence of a long-term gambling addiction. But federal prosecutors argued against that version of events, saying that there was “only minimal evidence” that Mizuhara had gambled at all previous to running up his account with Bowyer. 

In addition, prosecutors noted that Mizuhara consistently held a “significant balance” in his checking account, yet used Ohtani’s debit card to pay his rent. Mizuhara also used some of the money stolen from Ohtani to pay for non-gambling expenses like baseball cards – $325,000 worth of which Ohtani was able to recover late last year.

“He has no expenses,” prosecutors said at an earlier hearing. “He had no loans, car payments, or rent expenses.”

Judge: Mizuhara Abused ‘Unique Position of Trust’

As a result, prosecutors successfully argued for a harsher sentence, saying that Mizuhara took advantage of Ohtani’s trust in him.

“Mr. Mizuhara had a unique position of trust that gave him power, brough him fame, and paid him well,” acting United States Attorney for the Central District of California Joseph T. McNally said in a statement. “Unfortunately, he exploited this dream job to steal millions of dollars from his friend and confidant. This is a sad tale of an American success story gone wrong – so wrong that Mr. Mizuhara will be spending years inside a prison cell.” 

As part of the evidence against Mizuhara, prosecutors released a recording of the interpreter calling a bank and impersonating Ohtani to wire money from Ohtani’s account on Feb. 2, 2022. Prosecutors say that Mizuhara impersonated Ohtani in this way approximately two dozen times. 

Ohtani, the two-way superstar who had previously played for the Los Angeles Angels, signed with the Dodgers in December 2023 for $700 million over 10 years. However, Ohtani agreed to defer $68 million per year of that contract until 2034 – a deal he may not have made had he been aware of the more than $40 million in debt Mizuhara had accumulated with Bowyer, which was being repaid out of Ohtani’s salary from the Angels.

The gambling controversy didn’t appear to impact Ohtani in 2024. The 30-year-old hit .310 with 54 homers and 59 stolen bases, becoming baseball’s first ever 50/50 player on his way to winning his third MVP award.