It has been alleged that a former teammate of Shohei Ohtani stole millions from him. According to an affidavit obtained by E! News, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ippei Mizuhara was charged with federal bank fraud on April 11 for allegedly defrauding the athlete of $16 million. Mizuhara, who commenced an English-teaching contract with Ohtani in 2013, obtained authorization for his client’s funds upon the 29-year-old MLB player’s 2018 relocation from his country of origin to the United States. The interpreter assisted Ohtani in establishing a bank account at the time and subsequently became his de facto manager, according to allegations made by prosecutors at a news conference on April 11, as reported by NBC News.
Mizuhara, 39, obstructed Ohtani’s agent, financial advisor, and accountant from accessing the 29-year-old’s online finances and wired more than $16 million in unauthorized funds from the player’s account to his own bank between November 2021 and January 2024, according to the affidavit. This was due to the interpreter’s “insatiable appetite” for illegal sports gambling.
Mizuhara allegedly used the stolen funds to place over 19,000 sports betting wagers ranging in value from $10 to $160,000 over the course of approximately three years, according to the documents. Prosecutors stated in the affidavit that the 39-year-old linked Ohtani’s bank accounts to his own phone number and email address, and identified himself as the baseball sensation when speaking with tellers on the phone, in order to avoid suspicion when transferring the funds.
Concerning Ohtani,… The pitcher, who in December agreed to a $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers, was not informed of the alleged illicit activity involving his interpreter.
In the coming days, Mizuhara is scheduled to appear in federal district court, according to information released by officials during the news conference. The utmost possible sentence for an interpreter convicted of bank fraud is thirty years in prison.