The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani now faces federal charges over allegations he stole millions from MLB’s highest-paid player in a gambling scheme, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
Ippei Mizuhara has been charged with bank fraud for allegedly stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani to “finance his voracious appetite for illegal sports betting,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said during a press briefing.
Estrada claimed Mizuhara committed fraud on a “massive scale” to “plunder” Ohtani’s bank account to pay for his gambling debts.
Mizuhara had helped Ohtani, who did not speak or understand English, set up his bank account in 2018 in Arizona and “used that familiarity” to later steal the funds from Ohtani to help pay for illegal sports bets, the DOJ alleged. He is accused of wiring more than $16 million in unauthorized transfers from Ohtani’s checking account from November 2021 to January 2024, the DOJ said. He is also accused of impersonating Ohtani over the phone with the bank to approve wire transfers to the bookmakers, the DOJ said.
Estrada stressed that Ohtani is considered a victim in the case and has cooperated “fully and completely” in the investigation.
“There is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Ohtani authorized the over $16 million of transfers from his account to the bookmakers,” Estrada said.
