Meg Oliphant/Getty Shohei Ohtani speaks with his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara prior to being introduced by the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on December 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, has been charged in federal court in Los Angeles with charges related to the theft of $16 million from Ohtani to pay off his “substantial gambling debts,” prosecutors announced on April 11, 2024.
The 39-year-old Mizuhara was charged with bank fraud, a felony with a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada announced in a press release. The full 37-page criminal complaint can be read here.
Estrada said at a press conference there is no evidence Ohtani placed any bets himself and it does not appear that Mizhuara bet on baseball. Ohtani has fully cooperated with the investigation, Estrada said at the press conference.
Mizuhara made 19,000 wagers from 2021 to 2024, ranging from $10 to $160,000 per bet, averaging $12,800 per bet, according to the complaint. He had winning bets of $142,256,769 and losing bets of $182,935,206 for a total loss of $40,678,436, according to the complaint.
“According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, from November 2021 to January 2024, Mizuhara wired more than $16 million in unauthorized transfers from a checking account belong to an MLB player identified in the affidavit as ‘Victim A,’ who in fact is MLB star Shohei Ohtani. The transfers from this bank account allegedly were made from devices and IP addresses associated with Mizuhara, who served as Ohtani’s translator and de facto manager,” the press release from the prosecutor’s office stated. “In 2018, Mizuhara accompanied Ohtani, who didn’t speak English, to a bank branch in Arizona to assist Ohtani in opening the account and translated for Ohtani when setting up the account details.
The press release added, “Ohtani’s salary from playing professional baseball was deposited into this account and he never gave Mizuhara control of this 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.”
According to prosecutors, “In September 2021, Mizuhara began gambling with an illegal sports book and, several months later, started losing substantial sums of money, the affidavit states. During this time, the contact information on Ohtani’s bank account allegedly was changed to link the account to Mizuhara’s phone number and to an anonymous email address connected to Mizuhara.”
Mizuhara met Ohtani while he was interpreting for an American player in Japan in 2013 and he became Ohtani’s interpreter when he joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2017. He accompanied Ohtani to the Dodgers when he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the team this offseason.
The Dodgers announced on March 20, 2024, that Mizuhara had been fired after the Los Angeles Times revealed he was tied to an investigation into Matthew Bowyer, who was accused of being a bookmaker in an illegal betting ring. It is the same investigation that has led to federal charges against former Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig.
Mizuhara initially told ESPN that Ohtani helped him pay off his debts to the bookmaker, but Ohtani’s representatives issued a statement saying that Ohtani was the victim of a “massive theft.” Ohtani spoke to the media on March 27 that he has “never bet on baseball or any other sport” and said he was “beyond shocked” by the accusations against his friend and interpreter, adding, “It’s hard to verbalize how I am feeling at this point.”
Ohtani, the MLB and the Dodgers have not commented about the charges against Mizuhara and Mizhuara’s attorney has also not released a statement. The MLB is also investigating the accusations.
Ippei Mizuhara Pretended to Be Shohei Ohtani to Trick Bank Employees Into Authorizing Wire Transfers to His Bookie, Prosecutors Say
Christian Petersen/GettyShohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara.
The evidence that led to the charges against Mizuhara included bank records showing that the contact information on Ohtani’s account was changed to an anonymous email connected to Mizuhara’s cell phone, recorded phone calls with Ohtani’s bank and a March 20, 2024, text message from Mizuhara to his bookmaker in which he admitted to stealing money from Ohtani, according to the complaint.
According to the press release, Mizuhara, “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.”
In one instance, Ohtani’s bank account was frozen and a bank employee called a number associated with Mizuhara, who successfully answered security challenge questions using biographical information about Ohtani and then pretended to be Ohtani to lift the freeze, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors added, “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.”
Investigators wrote in the complaint, “With consent from Mizuhara and his counsel, I have also taken possession of several additional briefcases and boxes that were found inside a vehicle used by Mizuhara. Inside the briefcases and boxes were additional baseball cards, including cards for baseball players Yogi Berra, Juan Soto, and (Ohtani). The Investigative Team is still attempting to inventory all of the baseball cards but I estimate that there were approximately 1,000 baseball cards in the briefcases and boxes.”
Federal prosecutors said in the release, “Mizuhara is expected to appear in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles for his initial appearance in the near future.” They added, “IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Jeff Mitchell of the Major Frauds Section, Dan Boyle of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section, and Rachel N. Agress of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.”
According to the criminal complaint, the investigation into the illegal gambling ring with ties to Southern California and Las Vegas began several years ago. It has led to criminal charges or convictions against 12 other people, and Mizuhara’s bookmaker was among the targets of the probe, investigators said in the complaint.
Investigators searched Mizhuara’s phone on March 21, 2024, and found text messages between him and two bookmakers, according to the complaint. In one text, on September 24, 2021, Mizuhara texted a bookmaker, “I’ve just been messing around with soccer, there’s games on 24/7 lol. I took UCLA but they lost outright!!!”
In May 2022, Mizuhara’s texts show he had a “bad run,” according to the complaint, and he owed his bookmaker more than $1 million in losses, but he “continually increased Mizuhara’s betting limits.” In a November 2022 text, Mizuhara wrote, “I’m terrible at this sports betting thing huh? Lol….Any chance u can bump me again. As you know, you don’t have to worry about me not paying!!”
He texted on December 9, 2022, “Can u bump me last 200? I swear on my mom this will be the last ask before I pay it off once I get back to the states. Sorry for keep on asking…” The bookmaker responded, “Np done bud. Merry Christmas,” the complaint states.”
Mizuhara’s Bookmaker Sent Him a Text About Seeing Shohei Ohtani Walking His Dog & Said ‘I’m Just Gonna Go Up & Talk to Him,’ Investigators Say
According to the complaint, on November 17, 2023, Mizuhara’s bookmaker texted him, “Hey Ippie, it’s 2 o’clock on Friday. I don’t know why you’re not returning my calls. I’m here in Newport Beach and I see (Ohtani) walking his dog. I’m just gonna go up and talk to him and ask how I can get in touch with you since you’re not responding? Please call me back immediately.”
Mizuhara texted him on November 19, “I’m gonna be honest, I ended up losing a lot of money on crypto the last couple years and I took a huge hit obviously with the sports too. … Just wanted to ask, is there any way we can settle on an amount? I’ve lost way too much on the site already… of course I know it’s my fault.”
In a January 6, 2024, text, the bookmaker wrote, according to the complaint, “you’re putting me in a position where this is going to get out of control. If I don’t hear from you by the end of the day today it’s gonna be out of my hands.” Mizuhara replied, “My bad man. … I just got back from Japan two days ago and I’m leaving tomorrow again. … I’ll be back in mid January. To be honest with you, I’m really struggling right now and I need some time before I start to make payments.”
On March 17, 2024, Mizuhara messaged his bookmaker on the encrypted messaging app Signal saying, “Thank you for the call earlier…Do you think there is anway to find out the details of the article that’s coming out on LA Times.”
The bookmaker replied, “Hey bud, of course Ty for calling me. I have no idea what this idiot is printing or trying to say. I’ve never spoke to him and wasn’t willing to talk to him although he tried. And all my attorney did was give him those facts I told you and told him the rest she won’t talk about and can’t confirm or deny anything. He did say his source was the FBI but I don’t even know if that’s true.”
Mizuhara texted the bookmaker on March 20, 2024, according to the complaint, writing, “Have you seen the reports?” He replied, “Yes, but that’s all (expletive). Obviously you didn’t steal from him. I understand that it’s a cover job I totally get it.” Mizuhara messaged back, “Technically I did steal from him. it’s all over for me.”
Mizuhara Acted as a ‘de Facto Manager & Assistant for Ohtani, Prosecutors Say
Two important elements from the complaint against Ippei Mizuhara.
1) The size of his bets — and the debt he allegedly incurred — were massive: losing bets of nearly $183 million, winning bets of more than $142 million and $40.7 million in losses.
2) No bets on baseball.
According to the complaint, Mizuhara was separately employed by Ohtani as a “de facto manager and assistant.” He would drive Ohtani, handle daily taks for him and translate and manage some of his business and personal matters outside of baseball, the complaint states.
Ohtani asked Mizuhara to drive him to a bank in Arizona to help him open an account in 2018 and Mizuhara translated for him when the account was set up, according to the complaint. Mizuhara went to all of Ohtani’s meetings with his agent, accountants and financial advisors and none of them spoke Japanese, so Ohtani needed Mizuhara to translate, according to the complaint.
Ohtani told investigators he never authorized the wire transfers from his account to his bookmaker and did not give Mizuhara control over his financial accounts.
Ohtani’s agents and financial advisers told investigators they did not have their own interpreters to talk with Ohtani because Mizuhara always accompanied him to meetings, according to the complaint. Ohtani’s agent didn’t speak directly to Ohtani or text him regularly, instead going through Mizuhara.
An investigator wrote in the complaint, “I do not find it credible that Mizuhara would have made repeated false statements to Bank A employees by pretending to be Victim A if Victim A was aware of and authorized these wires. If that were the case, Victim A and Mizuhara could have executed the transfers from a Bank A branch, or added Mizuhara as an authorized signer on the x5848 Account.”
The investigator added, “I have also obtained gambling records from legal gambling casinos and websites, including MGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel. All three companies found records and a history of gambling for Mizuhara, but found no records for Victim A.”
Ohtani allowed investigators to search his phone and found there was no evidence suggesting he was aware of Mizuhara’s gambling activity or payment of debts, no evidence he accessed the bank account from his phone and any evidence he had accessed the bookmaker’s gambling websites, according to the complaint. They also did not find any text messages discussing sports betting or Mizuhara’s gambling debts or messages with the bookmakers or their associates, the complaint states.
Shohei Ohtani, Who Was Interviewed by Federal Investigators, Told Reporters ‘Ippei Has Been Stealing Money From My Account & Told Lies
Ohtani spoke to reporters in Los Angeles on March 27 and said in his statement that he learned about everything while he and the Dodgers were on their trip to Korea for the first two games of the 2024 MLB season. Ohtani told reporters, “Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies. Last weekend in Korea, media had reached out to a representative in my camp inquiring about my potential involvement in sports betting. So, Ippei never revealed to me that there was this media inquiry, and to the representatives in my camp he told, Ippei told, to the media and to my representatives that I, on behalf of a friend, paid off debt.”
Ohtani added, “Upon further questioning, it was revealed that it was actually, in fact, Ippei who was in debt. And told my representatives that I was paying off those debts. All of this has been a complete lie. So, Ippei obviously lied about — basically didn’t tell me about the media inquiry. So Ippei has been telling everybody around that Ippei has been communicating with Shohei on all of this account — to my representatives, to the team — and that hasn’t been true.”
Ohtani said he first learned about his interpreter’s gambling issues alongside his teammates at a meeting in Korea. He said Mizuhara was speaking in English and he didn’t have his own translator, so he “kind of understood what was going on and started to feel that there was something amiss.”
He added, “Up until that team meeting, I didn’t know that Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in debt. Obviously at that point, or, obviously I never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker. And finally, when we went back to the hotel and talked one-to-one, that’s when I found out that he had a massive debt. And it was revealed to me during that meeting that Ippei admitted that he was sending money, using my account, to the bookmaker.”
Ohtani’s statement also said, “And at that moment, obviously it was an absurd thing that was happening and I contacted my representatives at that point. So, when I was finally able to talk to my representatives, that’s when my representatives found out that Ippei has been lying the whole time, and that’s when I started contacting the Dodgers and my lawyers. And the Dodgers and the lawyers at that moment found out also as well that they have been lied to. And my lawyers recommended that since this is theft and fraud that we have the proper authorities handle this matter.”