One day after the ex-interpreter of Shohei Ohtani was accused of bank fraud for stealing $16 million from the Japanese baseball star, he was released on $25,000 bail after making his first, brief appearance in court in Los Angeles.
Ippei Mizuhara surrendered to federal authorities Friday morning. He did not enter a plea when he appeared in court.
The Dodgers superstar accused his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, massive theft and a federal investigation revealed that funds were stolen to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debts, and that the amount is much higher than what was initially reported to be “at least $4.5 million.”
“According to the complaint, Mr. Mizuhara stole this money, in large part to fund his voracious appetite for illegal sports betting,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said at an April 11 news conference.
While questions persisted about whether Ohtani was involved or knew about the bet, he denied it, and federal law enforcement officials consider Ohtani a victim.
As Ohtani’s interpreter and right-hand man, Mizuhara opened a bank account for Ohtani’s baseball salary deposits, had full access to it, and even posed as Ohtani to swindle funds from the account .
Estrada said that since 2021, Mizuhara has made thousands of sports bets, but not on baseball.
When he was first confronted with the theft charge, Mizuhara said Ohtani paid his gambling debts for him. A day later, Mizuhara changed his story, saying Ohtani knew nothing about the debts and had not transferred any funds to the bookmakers.
On March 25, Ohtani held a Dodger Stadium press conference claiming he never bet on sports or knowingly paid gambling debts accrued by his interpreter.
“I am very saddened and shocked that someone I trusted did this,” the Japanese star said through a new interpreter.
“Ippei stole money from my account and lied,” Ohtani said.
Mizuhara, 39, will appear in court briefly on Friday, but is expected to be released on bail. The U.S. Attorney’s Office does not expect him to enter a plea.
Mizuhara faces up to 30 years in federal prison if convicted of this charge. He is due back in court on May 9.
Grub5
