Ippei Mizuhara Sentenced to 57 Months: How Shohei Ohtani’s Trusted Interpreter Stole $17 Million in Shocking Gambling Scandal
Santa Ana, California – October 2024 – In a shocking case of betrayal and financial fraud, Ippei Mizuhara, the former Japanese-language interpreter for Major League Baseball (MLB) superstar Shohei Ohtani, has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison. Mizuhara, 40, of Newport Beach, California, was found guilty of illegally transferring nearly 17millionfromOhtani’sbankaccounttopayoffhisgamblingdebtsandforsigningafalsetaxreturn.Thesentencing,handeddownbyUnitedStatesDistrictJudgeJohnW.Holcomb,alsorequiresMizuharatopay17millionfromOhtani’sbankaccounttopayoffhisgamblingdebtsandforsigningafalsetaxreturn.Thesentencing,handeddownbyUnitedStatesDistrictJudgeJohnW.Holcomb,alsorequiresMizuharatopay16,975,010 in restitution to Ohtani