Prosecutors Say Ohtani’s Interpreter Stole $16 Million From Star
Federal prosecutors released a detailed complaint on Thursday that claimed Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, orchestrated a sprawling scheme over years to steal $16 million of the baseball star’s money to feed his gambling addiction.
The money that Mizuhara took from Ohtani came directly from an account where Ohtani’s baseball salary was paid, the authorities said. While Mizuhara used the money to place bets with an illegal bookmaker, there is no indication that Mizuhara bet on baseball, nor that Ohtani knew about it, they said.
“There’s no indication Mr. Ohtani authorized the $16 million from his account to the bookmakers,” said E. Martin Estrada, the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.
The authorities charged Mizuhara with bank fraud, for which the maximum penalty is 30 years in prison. The complaint contains a message sent by Mizuhara in which he admits to a bookmaker that he stole the money from Ohtani.
“Technically I did steal from him,” Mizuhara said. “It’s all over for me.”
The account provided by the authorities largely confirms what Ohtani told the public in late March, shortly after reports first surfaced that $4.5 million had been transferred from Ohtani’s account to Mizuhara. At that time, he explained how he believed Mizuhara had stolen money from him and that he did not bet on sports himself.
Estrada described Ohtani as the victim of a “fraud on a massive scale” as Mizuhara exploited his access and the fact that Ohtani did not speak English to take advantage of the star.