A U.S. District Court judged sided with the prosecution and issued a 57-month sentence on Thursday to Ippei Mizuhara for stealing approximately $17 million from Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.
Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Ohtani, also was given three years of supervised release following his prison time. Judge John W. Holcomb, in Santa Ana, Calif., also instructed Mizuhara to repay the money he took from Ohtani while also paying $1.1 million to the IRS.
Mizuhara, a 40-year-old Japan native who acknowledged the theft, had asked for a lesser sentence of 18 months, citing a gambling addiction that he maintained led to him taking money he needed to pay off a bookmaker.
“I want to say I am truly sorry to Mr. Ohtani for what I have done,” Mizuhara told the court, according to ESPN.
Holcomb said, per ESPN, “The magnitude of the theft — $17 million — in my view, is shockingly high. … I hope that Mr. Mizuhara will be able to repay that sum. That remains to be seen.”
In the leadup to the sentencing, prosecutors introduced an audio tape in which Mizuhara tried to pass himself off as Ohtani while phoning a bank and attempting to complete a $200,000 wire transfer. Mizuhara did not dispute the authenticity of the evidence.
Mizuhara worked as Ohtani’s interpreter with the Los Angeles Angels and later with the Dodgers after the two-way player changed teams with a free agent deal in December 2023. He was fired in March 2024 after prosecutors reported Ohtani was a victim of theft following the investigation into an illegal bookmaking operation that led to Mizuhara’s indictment.
In a court brief filed last month, Mizuhara said of his gambling addiction that resulted in $17 million in losses, “I became almost dead inside. It was like I was just going through the motions. Although I had always told myself that I would win it all back, as it became clear to me this was an impossibility, I think I just shut down. But that did not stop me from placing more bets. I felt really antsy and anxious if I did not have an active bet. I felt pressure to stay in the game.”
–Field Level Media
