What to Know
- Ippei Mizuhara faces federal bank fraud charges in the the theft of millions of dollars from the account of Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.
- Mizuhara accompanied Ohtani to a bank branch in Arizona when they opened the account in 2018, prosecutors say.
- He surrendered Friday morning to federal authorities ahead of an initial court appearance.
Federal bank fraud charges were announced Thursday against Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, who is accused of stealing millions from the baseball star's account to support a "voracious appetite" for gambling.
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Prosecutors discussed the charges against Ippei Mizuhara, 39, at a news conference in Los Angeles, claiming that Mizuhara used $16 million stolen from Ohtani's account to pay off significant illegal gambling debts. Mizuhara has agreed to surrender Friday to federal authorities, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Mizuhara, accompanied by his attorney, surrendered to law enforcement Friday morning and is in federal custody, according to authorities. An initial court appearance, expected to be brief, is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday. He will not be asked to enter a plea to the bank fraud charges during the initial federal court appearance, the office said.
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"We're used to these initial hearings where somebody is brought in, and it's an arraignment where they plead guilty or not guilty," said NBCLA legal analyst Royal Oakes. "It's a little different in federal court. This is really just sort of an administrative kickoff. He will not be asked to enter a plea at this point. There will be a question as to whether he'll be released with or without bond, and so that's the substantive question. Down the road, we'll get to the issue of this plea, and there's always the possibility of a plea bargain."
Whether someone is taken into custody after an initial hearing depends largely on the nature of the crime and whether that person is considered a flight risk.
"We're not talking about violent crimes here, but still the judge as to determine whether it's appropriate that this person be held, pending a trial," Oakes said.
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As for the possibility of a plea bargain, the investigation into Mizuhara was part of a larger probe involving illegal gambling operations.
"As a result, it's possible that if this interpreter shows remorse, he doesn't have a criminal record, and he's going to help the government put together their bigger case, who knows," Oakes said. "He might be able to get a pretty sweet plea deal down the road."
Prosecutors said during Thursday's news conference that there is no evidence Ohtani authorized the transfers from his account and characterized the baseball superstar as a victim in the case. Ohtani reportedly has been assisting authorities with the investigation. The New York Times reports that the Mizuhara is negotiating a plea deal.
"Mr. Mizuhara stole this money largely to finance his voracious appetite for illegal sports betting," said United States Attorney Martin Estrada.
According to the criminal complaint filed by prosecutors, about 19,000 wagers were placed between December 2021 and January 2024 with nearly 25 bets per day on average. The wagers ranged in value from roughly $10 to $160,000 per bet, with an average bet amount of roughly $12,800.
Mizuhara's winning bets totaled more than $142,256,000 and losing bets about $182,935,000. Total losses amounted to more than $40,679,000, the affidavit said.
In a text message to a bookmaker, Mizuhara admitted that he was stealing the money from Ohtani's account, prosecutors said.
Mizuhara accompanied Ohtani to a bank branch in Arizona when they opened the account in 2018, translating for Ohtani to set up the account. Ohtani’s salary was deposited into the account, prosecutors said, and he never gave Mizuhara control of the account or any of his other financial accounts, according to the affidavit.
"Mizuhara allegedly told Ohtani’s U.S.-based financial professionals, none of whom spoke Japanese, that Ohtani denied them access to the account," the Department of Justice said in a statement.
Mizuhara began gambling with an illegal sportsbook in 2021, according to prosecutors. Months later, he started losing "substantial" amounts of money and, at about the same time, contact information on Ohtani's bank account was changed to link it to Mizuhara's phone number and an anonymous email, prosecutors said.
"Mizuhara allegedly also telephoned the bank and falsely identified himself as Ohtani to trick bank employees into authorizing wire transfers from Ohtani’s bank account to associates of the illegal gambling operation," the DOJ's statement continued. "From January 2024 to March 2024, he also allegedly used this same account to purchase via eBay and Whatnot approximately 1,000 baseball cards – at a cost of approximately $325,000 – and had them mailed to Mizuhara under an alias, 'Jay Min,' and mailed to the clubhouse for Ohtani’s current MLB team."
The records do not indicate any bets on baseball.
League Rule 21 states that players and team employees are prohibited from placing wagers, even legal bets, on baseball and from wagering with illegal or offshore bookmakers. It also mentions the possible punishments, which may be largely left up to the league's front office.
The scandal first broke in mid-March after Mizuhara, Ohtani's close friend and interpreter, was fired for an alleged theft from Ohtani's bank accounts to cover illegal gambling losses. Those gambling debts were to an illegal bookmaker in Orange County who was under IRS investigation. The reports indicated at least $4.5 million was transmitted from Ohtani's bank account to the California bookie.
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 the following day, ESPN said Mizuhara dramatically changed his story, claiming Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.
Meanwhile, authorities believe they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani's bank account so that he wouldn't receive notifications about transactions, according to the NYTimes.
Ohtani and his attorneys have maintained that Mizuhara was completely unaware of the “massive theft" until the news came to light last month when the Dodgers were opening the season in South Korea against the San Diego Padres.
Major League Baseball launched its own investigation concurrent to the federal one by the IRS.
Ohtani has been playing throughout the investigation.
If you or someone you know has a gambling addiction, please call the National Council on Problem Gambling at 1-800-522-4700 to speak to a counselor. Help is also available via an online peer support forum at www.gamtalk.org, and additional resources can be found at NCPG website.
