Exclusive: Audio reveals former Ohtani interpreter impersonated Dodgers Star in call with bank

Federal prosecutors on Thursday revealed a nearly four-minute audio recording that they say showed Ippei Mizuhara, the former performer convicted of defrauding the Los Angeles Dodgers SHOHEI Ohtani, attempting to slip through a wire transfer from $200,000 from one of the player’s accounts.

The recording, obtained by Athletics From the Justice Department, was mentioned in a court filing in which prosecutors recommended a sentence of nearly five years and restitution for Mizuhara. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return after stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani. Mizuhara is scheduled to be sentenced on February 6.

In his own filing in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California later Thursday, Mizuhara cited a heavy gambling addiction — he racked up a $40.7 million debt — and deep regret for his crimes in asking the court for a much shorter sentence, 18 months. Prosecutors asked for 57.

The recording, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Mitchell said was obtained from a bank, was filed to back up the prosecution’s allegations that Mizuhara repeatedly called the bank to arrange wire transfers , having circumvented security measures by routing Ohtani’s online account information to his own email and phone number.

“Who am I talking to?” A bank officer asks in the clip.

“Shohei Ohtani,” Mizuhara responds.

The agent goes through a two-factor authentication process, asking Mizuhara to recite a six-digit number relayed via text message to the phone number linked to the account — a number that corresponds to Mizuhara’s personal cell.

The agent later asks for details of the transaction.

“Now, recently, we have encountered a trend of fraud and scams, so we have been closely monitoring online transactions to ensure that our customers are not victims either,” says the agent. “What is the reason for this transaction?”

Mizuhara says it’s for a car loan.

“What is your relationship with the beneficiary?” asks the agent.

“He’s my friend,” Mizuhara said.

“Have you met your friend in person?” the agent responds.

“Yes, several times,” Mizuhara said.

Mizuhara is later asking if there will be future sons to your friend? “

“Um, maybe,” he replies.

The audio was edited to remove the names of the bank and an “untriggered co-conspirator.”

Prosecutors have sought restitution of nearly $17 million from Ohtani and an additional $1.1 million from the IRS, but noted in the filing, Mizuhara is unable to repay Ohtani. A fine of $200 is also included.

Mizuhara claimed in his filing that neither he nor his wife could work and that they relied on his parents for money. He tried to work briefly as an Uber driver, but was fired when his photo was released publicly, the filing said.

“It hasn’t been pleasant at all,” Mizuhara said as having been told by a forensic psychologist. “My mother had to stop working at her nursing job because she works with a lot of Asians. My wife and I have been followed and harassed, and we have to be careful going out in public. I realize that this is all because of what I did, and I accept that, but it hasn’t been easy. I have to admit that I never thought about the shame that would come to my family if I didn’t eat the money and got caught. »

Mizuhara’s lawyer wrote that his client has struggled with “gaming addiction” since he was 18. The $17 million loss started with a $20,000 credit from his bookmaker.

“I almost became dead inside,” Mizuhara said. “It felt like I was just going through the motions. Although I always told myself I would win it all, as it became clear to me that was an impossibility, I think I just shut down. But that didn’t stop me from placing more bets. I felt really unbiased and anxious if I didn’t have an active bet. I felt the pressure to stay in the game.

The U.S. attorney’s office expected Mizuhara to indicate his gambling addiction.

“Even though Defendant is addicted to gambling, he cannot fully explain Defendant’s conduct because Defendant used the stolen funds for numerous personal expenses that had nothing to do with gambling,” Mitchell wrote. “Ultimately, the government submits, the motivating factor behind defendant’s crimes was not a gambling addiction but rather greed.”

The recording was a quick example of the extraordinary trust between Ohtani and Mizuhara that went beyond the normal arrangements between a baseball player and a performer. For years, they were close friends and confidants, with the two-way superstar relying on Mizuhara for many elements of his life. Mizuhara would help drive Ohtani, buy him in and act as a conduit to teammates, agents and sponsors. Mizuhara gained Ohtani’s trust and received broad access to his accounts, which prosecutors say led to Mizuhara having the means to change Ohtani’s account information and contact the bank for the transactions without knowledge direct from Ohtani.

Between December 2021 and January 2024, Mizuhara placed approximately 19,000 bets online through bookmaker Matthew Bowyer.

“His multi-year theft of Mr. Ohtani’s funds and the myriad lies he told Mr. Ohtani’s agents and financial advisors to cover up his theft represented a calculated betrayal of the very person he was hired to to help,” Mitchell wrote.

Mizuhara was initially paid $80,000 by the Los Angeles Angels, which was Ohtani’s first team in the United States. Mizuhara’s salary increased in 2022 to $250,000, then when Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2024, it doubled to $500,000, according to the filing. Ohtani also gave Mizuhara additional money and a Porsche Cayenne, prosecutors said.

Mizuhara, however, painted a picture in the filing that he was “on call 24/7” and “severely underpaid.” But because he worked on one-year contracts, he didn’t want to risk being fired by asking for more pay. So he continued to function as the middlemen for everything from Ohtani’s endorsement and brokerage companies to the player’s mother, who managed her son’s interests in Japan. Jet lag, Mizuhara said, often left him working late hours at the expense of sleep.

“I would also do daily errands such as grocery shopping, checking his mailbox, fixing his bicycle, accompanying him when he returned to Iwate Prefecture to visit his family, taking his dog to the vet, taking his dog to the groomer, drop off and pick up for his dinners he had with his peers while I waited in the car, helped coordinate Japanese and American attorneys for his bridal party and attended meetings, etc. “Mizuhara said, according to the filing.

He continued: “My only consecutive days off would be around 4 days at the turn of the year, which left me with barely any time to spend with my wife.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office cited a $325,000 charge Mizuhara put on Ohtani’s credit card for baseball cards on eBay, and a $60,000 check Ohtani cut Mizuhara for dental work, as examples of personal expenses.

“Instead of using the check to pay for the dental work, the defendant deposited the check into his personal bank account and then used Mr. Ohtani’s debit card to pay for the dental work, without the authorization or knowledge from Mr. Ohtani,” Mitchell wrote.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. Mizuhara’s attorney, Michael Freedman, did not respond to a request for comment.

As part of the May 2024 plea deal and again on Thursday, prosecutors suggested it was a possibility Mizuhara could be deported to Japan, where he was born.

Mizuhara’s lawyer wrote his client, who grew up in Los Angeles but is not a U.S. citizen, “is virtually certain” to be deported to Japan, where he “will continue to face great scrutiny and shame given the unique notoriety of this affair” in the in the in the in the in the country.

“I truly admire Shohei as a baseball player and a human being and am committed to dedicating my life so that Shohei can be the best version of himself on the field,” Mizuhara said according to the filing. “I want to say I’m really sorry for violating her trust in me.”

(Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)