Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, faces sentencing for bank and tax fraud after stealing nearly \$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player's bank account. Mizuhara exploited the language barrier to isolate Ohtani and profit from his proximity to the two-way player's power. He pleaded guilty to siphoning money from Ohtani's account to cover sports gambling debts.
Ippei Mizuhara , the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani , is facing sentencing for bank and tax fraud after stealing nearly \$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player's bank account. Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the language gap between Ohtani and his English-speaking teammates and fans, exploited the situation to isolate Ohtani and profit from his proximity to the two-way player's power.
Mizuhara pleaded guilty last year to federal charges after he was accused of siphoning money from Ohtani's account to cover sports gambling debts. Authorities say Mizuhara began accessing Ohtani's account in 2021 and changed its security protocols to impersonate Ohtani and authorize wire transfers. Mizuhara had helped Ohtani open the account in 2018 when the athlete moved from Japan to the United States to play for the Angels. When he began accumulating sports gambling debt in 2021, Mizuhara recalled the password and used it to access Ohtani's account. He then took money from the account to pay off his debt and other expenses on various occasions through March 2024. To conceal his actions further, Mizuhara even told Ohtani's sports agent and financial advisors that the player didn't want them to access the account. Prosecutors emphasize that Ohtani was a victim of the scheme and there is no evidence he was aware of Mizuhara's gambling activities. MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from wagering on sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers, as sports gambling is illegal in California.
Shohei Ohtani Ippei Mizuhara Bank Fraud Tax Fraud Sports Gambling Los Angeles Dodgers
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