Ippei Mizuhara, formerly the personal interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, was sentenced to 57 months in prison on Thursday.
Mizuhara pled guilty to one charge of bank fraud and one charge of submitting a false tax return back in June 2024. The 40-year-old from Japan had stolen about $17 million from Ohtani, all while racking up roughly $40 million in debt making illegal sports bets.
U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb ordered Mizuhara to pay Ohtani back his $17 million in restitution, as well as $1.1 million to the IRS. Mizuhara is also bound for three years of supervised release once his nearly five-year prison sentence is up.
Mizuhara’s transgressions first came to light in March 2024, just as the Dodgers’ season was getting underway in Korea. Ohtani went on to win NL MVP and help Los Angeles capture the World Series title.
Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023. Mizuhara went along with him as part of the deal, following their six years together with the Los Angeles Angels.
“I want to say I am truly sorry to Mr. Ohtani for what I have done,” Mizuhara said in court, per ESPN’s Tisha Thompson.
