By Miles Anderson
Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter and friend Ippei Mizuhara pled guilty to tax and bank fraud charges in federal court in Santa Ana today stemming from allegations that he stole close to $17 million dollars from Ohtani to cover his gambling addiction.
Between late 2021 and early 2024, Mizuhara made some 19,000 wagers, or roughly 25 bets per day. Mizuhara’s won over $142 million betting on a variety of sports, but he lost nearly $183 million during that same period, for a net loss of nearly $41 million.
Mizuhara pled guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. He and faces up to 33 years in federal prison. Sentencing is scheduled for October 25th.
In addition to prison time, Mizuhara is ordered to pay Ohtani restitution of close to $17 million and he must pay $1 million to the IRS. There is no evidence that Ohtani either participated or had knowledge of Mizuhara’s activities.
Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on March 20th after Ohtani’s law firm alleged that Ohtani was the victim of “massive theft” by Mizuhara.
Ippei Mizuhara was born in Hokkaido, Japan and moved with his family to the Los Angeles area at the age of six. He attended Diamond Bar High School and falsely claimed that he graduated from UC Riverside. Mizuhara was a popular personality amongst baseball fans.
Major League Baseball announced that it was closing its investigation into the matter following Mizuhara’s guilty plea.
The Dodgers released the following statement on X today: “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.”