Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, who admitted stealing nearly $17 million from the Dodger slugger's bank account to pay off illegal gambling debts, was sentenced Thursday in a Santa Ana federal court to 57 months in prison.
Ippei Mizuhara was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $18.1 million.
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
Mizuhara pleaded guilty in June to one federal count each of bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return. The bank fraud charge could have sent him to prison for up to 30 years, while the tax charge carried up to three years in federal prison.
“Mr. Mizuhara had a unique position of trust that gave him power, brought him fame, and paid him well,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally while announcing the sentencing. “Unfortunately, he exploited this dream job to steal millions of dollars from his friend and confidant. This is a sad tale of an American success story gone wrong – so wrong that Mr. Mizuhara will be spending years inside a prison cell.”
Prosecutors emphasized that Ohtani had no involvement in the illegal activity carried out by his former interpreter. "To be clear, Mr. Ohtani is a victim. Mr. Ohtani did not speak English, and none of his agents, accountants, or financial advisers spoke Japanese. Mr. Ohtani relied on defendant to communicate with the outside world, including his financial advisors."
Mizuhara "lied to the agents and financial advisors, and prevented them from protecting Mr. Ohtani, because defendant feared they would discover that he stole millions of dollars," prosecutors said.
Mizuhara said he admires Ohtani "as a baseball player and a human being and I was committed to devote my life so Shohei can be the best version of himself on the field. I want to say I am truly sorry for violating his trust in me."
Mizuhara is currently free on a $25,000 bond. He was ordered to surrender to federal authorities by March 24th to begin serving his sentence.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
