Federal prosecutors have accused Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani’s former performer, of stealing more than $16 million from the Dodgers superstar to pay his debts to an alleged illegal bookmaker in a scheme sprawling affair that spanned two years and involved illicit bets worth more than 10 times that amount.
The 36-page criminal complaint alleges that Mizuhara arranged wire transfers from Ohtani’s bank account without his knowledge or permission and repeatedly impersonated the player during phone calls with bank employees , all to fuel a worsening gambling habit that has racked up $40 million in losses on thousands of bets. .
In a language that echoes dialogue from a gangster film in places, the complaint details how Mizuhara reportedly raked in some $142 million in winnings but lost around $183 million.
The complaint was unveiled Thursday at a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, where U.S. Atty. for the Central District of California, E. Martin Estrada announced that Mizuhara was charged with bank fraud, which could result in a sentence of up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
“Our investigation revealed that because of the position of trust he held with Mr. Ohtani, Mr. Mizuhara had unique access to Mr. Ohtani’s finances,” Estrada said. “Mr. Mizuhara used and abused this position of trust in order to plunder Mr. Ohtani’s bank account…to feed his insatiable appetite for illegal sports betting.
Michael Freedman, a Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney, confirmed he represented Mizuhara but declined further comment.
The interpreter was expected to surrender to federal authorities on Friday.
Mizuhara, a Diamond Bar High School graduate, had worked with Ohtani since his debut with the Angels in 2018.
The accusation is the latest twist in a rapidly evolving saga that has riveted the baseball world since the Times published the story on March 20. The newspaper reported that Ohtani’s name had surfaced in the federal investigation into Mathew Bowyer, an allegedly illegal bookmaker who lives in Orange County. Ohtani’s representatives accused Mizuhara of committing a “massive theft” of the baseball player’s money to place bets with Bowyer’s organization.
“Mr. Ohtani has been established as a victim in this case,” Estrada said. “I want to be clear that Mr. Ohtani has fully and completely cooperated with this investigation. He not only spoke to investigators, he also provided access to his digital devices and personal information, to ensure justice was served.
Last month, Ohtani denied paying bookmakers, placing bets or asking anyone to do so for him. The complaint backs up his story. Investigators said there was no mention of gambling or Mizuhara’s debts in Ohtani’s text messages, that his browser history did not prove he had visited the two websites used by the bookmaking company and that his phone did not appear to have been used to access the bank account in question. Additionally, investigators found no discussions in which Ohtani granted Mizuhara access to the account.
Bowyer, whose San Juan Capistrano home was raided by federal agents in October, has not been charged with any crime.
The filing revealed a detailed picture of the central role Mizuhara played in Ohtani’s life – including telling Ohtani’s agent that the bank account, where Ohtani’s salary was deposited, was “private” and that he didn’t want him to be watched. Bank statements reviewed by investigators showed that account details had been changed to link them to Mizuhara’s phone number and that an email account was also connected to the performer.
More than $16 million was sent from the account via wire transfer between November 2021 and January 2024 to accounts controlled by people connected to the bookmaking operation, the complaint states. Most of the money – $15 million – was transferred from February 2022 to October 2023.
Mizuhara pretended to be Ohtani during calls from his phone to bank employees about wire transfers, according to the complaint, and used biographical details from Ohtani’s life to overcome security challenges. Although Mizuhara speaks English fluently, as he did in the recorded banking phone calls, Ohtani does not.
Mizuhara also kept Ohtani’s CFO, accountant and bookkeeper in the dark about transfers from the account, the complaint states.
Mizuhara’s phone was seized by authorities at Los Angeles International Airport on March 21 after Mizuhara returned from the Dodgers’ season-opening series in Seoul. A multitude of text messages recovered by investigators show him repeatedly asking bookmakers for “bumps,” slang for increasing his credit limit. The complaint says investigators compiled 9,700 pages of text exchanges, including those below.
“I’m bad at this sports betting stuff, huh?” Lol,” Mizuhara texted in November 2022. “Is there any chance you could bang me again?? As you know, you don’t have to worry that I won’t pay.
In June 2023, Mizuhara texted a person identified in the complaint as Bookmaker 1: “I have a problem lol… Can I have one last last bump?” This one is real.
Bookmaker 1 replied: “Done… I have the same problem. To be honest with you Ippie, as long as you can guarantee the 500 every Monday, I’ll give you as much as you want because I know you’re good at it. The complaint does not name Bowyer.
In November 2023, Bookmaker 1 seemed to be growing impatient with Mizuhara paying what he owed: “Hey Ippie, it’s 2 p.m. Friday. I don’t know why you aren’t answering my calls. I’m here in Newport Beach and I see (Ohtani) walking his dog. I’ll just talk to him and ask him how I can contact you since you’re not responding? Please call me back immediately.
In another text, Bookmaker 1 wrote: “I know you’re busy but you need to show some respect. I put my neck here.
Mizuhara blamed the deficit on cryptocurrency losses and the “hard hit obviously from sports as well.” He said he had “already lost way too much stuff on the site…of course I know it’s my fault.”
Investigators found no evidence that Mizuhara was betting on baseball.
“We understood that there was a lot of public interest in this case,” Estrada said. “There were a lot of question marks about what happened. We wanted to address these questions. However, I would like to emphasize that although we were able to work on this case quickly, the investigation was very thorough.
According to the complaint, Mizuhara sent a message to Bookmaker 1 on March 17 after learning of the Times’ inquiries from Ohtani and Bowyer’s representatives: “Do you think there is any way to find out the details of the article which appears in the LA Times?
As the Dodgers prepared to open their season against the San Diego Padres in Seoul last month, ESPN later reported, an Ohtani spokesperson told the outlet that the money came from Ohtani to cover the Mizuhara’s gambling debts. ESPN conducted a lengthy interview with Mizuhara on March 19, arranged by the spokesperson. Mizuhara claimed Ohtani paid off his gambling debts. (The complaint says Mizuhara’s statements were not credible.)
The spokesperson quickly disavowed the account, according to ESPN, and replaced it with the allegation that Mizuhara stole the money.
Near the end of the Dodgers’ season-opening victory over the Padres in a game that began at 3 a.m. Pacific Time on March 20, a television camera caught Ohtani and Mizuhara engaging in laughing in the shelter.
Before the clubhouse opened to the media after the game, several Dodgers executives spoke to the team along with Mizuhara. According to several people with knowledge of the meeting, the performer said he had a gambling problem and that Ohtani had paid off his debts last year.
In comments made at a press conference in Los Angeles a few days later, Ohtani described in Japanese what happened after the clubhouse meeting: “We went back to the hotel and Ippei told me spoke for the first time and that’s when I learned he had a huge debt. That’s when he told me he had accessed my bank account and made payments to a bookmaker. I found this strange, so I called my representatives.
The West Hollywood law firm representing Ohtani, Berk Brettler, issued a “massive theft” statement and said, “we are turning the matter over to the authorities.” The Dodgers quickly fired Mizuhara. Major League Baseball announced an investigation two days later. The league said in a statement Thursday that it would wait until the criminal proceedings are resolved “to determine whether further investigation is warranted.”
The day the story became public last month, the complaint states, Mizuhara messaged Bookmaker 1 again.
“Have you seen the reports?” » asked the interpreter.
“Yeah, but that’s just bullshit,” replied Bookmaker 1. “Obviously you didn’t steal it. I understand this is a cover job, I totally get it.
“Technically, I stole it,” Mizuhara said. “It’s over for me.”
Times Staff Writer Adam Elmahrek contributed to this report.
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