An interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty after secretly transferring about $17 million from the player’s account to pay off gambling debts.
Ippei Mizuhara accrued the debt through an illegal bookmaking operation that Ohtani had no knowledge of, the US Department of Justice said on Wednesday. Mizuhara is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks to bank fraud and filing a false tax return.
“He took advantage of his position of trust to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani and fuel a dangerous gambling habit,” Martin Estrada, the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement.
The agreement comes at a time when Ohtani, a rare combination of pitcher and hitter who signed a record $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December, has become a symbol of MLB’s efforts to expand its brand globally.
The Japanese prodigy began playing in California in 2018 and relied on Mizuhara as a translator when his career began in the US. Mizuhara, who was charged in AprilAccording to the federal prosecutor’s office, he was not only the 29-year-old’s interpreter, but also a close friend and de facto manager.
Mizuhara’s attorney, Michael Freedman, declined to comment. A Dodgers spokesman did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
Details of Mizuhara’s fraud were revealed Wednesday when the Justice Department announced his plan to plead guilty. Mizuhara gained access to Ohtani’s bank account after helping him open an account at a Phoenix branch in 2018. Starting in September 2021, Mizuhara began placing bets with an illegal bookmaker. Burdened with debt, over the next two and a half years he used Ohtani’s bank credentials to gain unrestricted access to his salary.
He also changed the security protocols for Ohtani’s account so that the bank would call Mizuhara to verify any transfers, prosecutors said.
According to the government, the interpreter siphoned nearly $17 million from Ohtani’s accounts. He faces more than 30 years in prison.
Despite the distractions of the scandal, Ohtani is having a big season for the Dodgers, who are atop the National League West. He is leading the team in batting average, home runs and hits.
An arm injury has prevented him from pitching this year. Before signing with the Dodgers, he played six seasons for the Los Angeles Angels at Freeway in Anaheim.