Ippei Mizuhara faces prison time, must pay nearly $17 million to Shohei Ohtani in settlement

Ippei Mizuhara, a former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud and filing a false tax return and was ordered to pay nearly $17 million in restitution to Ohtani, according to details of a settlement filed Wednesday.

Mizuhara, 39, faced up to 33 years in federal prison when his case went to trial after federal agents accused him of stealing millions of dollars from Ohtani and funneling it to an illegal bookmaker to cover gambling debts. As part of Mizuhara’s agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, prosecutors will recommend a two-level reduction in Mizuhara’s prison sentence.

According to the Washington Post, given the reduction and Mizuhara’s status as a first-time offender, the recommended prison sentence will be between seven and nine years, though the agreement states that prosecutors cannot guarantee the length of the sentence once he appears before a judge for sentencing in the Central District of California.

Mizuhara must also pay a $1.15 million fine to the Internal Revenue Service after he failed to report more than $4 million in income — allegedly stolen from Ohtani — for the 2022 tax year and then knowingly signed a false return.

Michael Freedman, Mizuhara’s lawyer, declined to comment Wednesday.

Mizuhara’s appeal largely puts aside the unfolding scandal because Ohtani befriended Mizuhara a decade ago and retained him when he switched clubs to Los Angeles in the offseason. In December, he signed a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers after six seasons with the Angels.

But the relationship between Ohtani, the Dodgers and Mizuhara soured early on when ESPN reported in March that Mizuhara had used Ohtani’s bank account to cover millions of dollars in losses from sports betting allegedly run by Orange County resident Mathew Bowyer.

Mizuhara claimed he never placed bets on baseball and gave conflicting answers to ESPN regarding Ohtani’s knowledge of his theft. The Dodgers fired Mizuhara after the first game of the season, played in Seoul, South Korea, and Mizuhara surrendered his cell phone to federal agents upon his return to the United States.

The result was a 37-page indictment that cast a negative light on Mizuhara’s gambling tendencies, and he often asked bookmakers to raise his credit limit.

According to federal prosecutors, Mizuhara’s bank fraud scheme ran from November 2021 to March 2024 and began after he changed the registered email address and phone number on Ohtani’s account from then-Los Angeles Angel to himself. Prosecutors say Mizuhara “failed to notify Victim A or seek his permission before transferring the money from the account.”

Mizuhara helped with interpretation when Ohtani opened a Bank of America account in February 2018, shortly after joining the Angels after a storied career in Japan.

The agreement also states that Mizuhara must forfeit any assets “derived from or acquired as a result of” the illegal activity, including “collectible baseball cards and sports memorabilia.” Prosecutors say Mizuhara purchased approximately $325,000 worth of baseball cards between January and March 2024, including valuable cards featuring Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, Yankees shortstop Juan Soto and Ohtani.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani’s former translator, reaches settlement