US Prosecutors: "Otani's Interpreter Embezzled 21.9 Billion Won... Otani Was Unaware"

Interpreter Mizuhara Ippei, who was fired after touching the money of MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers) to pay off gambling debts, has been indicted by the U.S. federal prosecutors on charges of bank fraud.

At the LA Dodgers press conference held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 16th of last month, interpreter Mizuhara Ippei sat next to Shohei Ohtani (right).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to daily publications such as The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), federal prosecutor Martin Estrada announced at a press conference held in Los Angeles on the 11th (local time) that Mizuhara had been indicted. Mizuhara is accused of stealing more than $16 million (approximately 21.9 billion KRW) from Ohtani’s bank account to cover her sports gambling expenses and lying to the bank during the process.

Prosecutor Estrada stated that there is no evidence that Ohtani was aware of Mizuhara’s actions and that "he is considered a victim in this case." He explained that the prosecution’s investigation found no conversations between the two regarding illegal gambling or approval of gambling debt repayments. Ohtani testified during an interview with investigators last week that he did not approve Mizuhara’s transfers and submitted his mobile phone to the authorities.

Mizuhara is scheduled to appear soon at the federal court in downtown Los Angeles. The maximum sentence for the bank fraud charge against Mizuhara is 30 years in prison, but under federal sentencing guidelines, the sentence for this case could be much shorter.

According to the statement released by the prosecution on the day, Mizuhara secretly withdrew more than $16 million from Ohtani’s deposit account from November 2021 to January this year and transferred it to gambling operators. Mizuhara, who had previously helped open Ohtani’s account, later changed the contact information in Ohtani’s account to her own phone number and email address. She also called the bank pretending to be Ohtani and got approval to transfer money from Ohtani’s bank account to illegal gambling operators.

The prosecution confirmed that Mizuhara placed about 19,000 gambling bets from December 2021 to January 2024, averaging nearly 25 bets per day. Mizuhara’s average bet amount reached $12,800. Additionally, Mizuhara is also accused of purchasing about 1,000 baseball cards for approximately $325,000 on e-commerce sites such as eBay using Ohtani’s account from January to March this year.

After this case was first reported last month, Mizuhara admitted in a message sent to a gambling operator, "I did steal from him (Ohtani). It’s all over." Mizuhara’s lawyer responded to the AP news agency after the prosecution’s indictment announcement, saying, "There is nothing to say at this time."

Earlier, Mizuhara was fired during the MLB Seoul Series held last month at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul after it was revealed that she had transferred money from Ohtani’s account to gambling operators. Before the illegal gambling facts became public, Ohtani told ESPN reporters that he personally paid off his gambling debts but later changed his statement.

Ohtani emphasized his innocence at a press conference before the U.S. mainland season opener last month, saying, "Mizuhara stole money from my account and kept lying. I have never engaged in sports gambling or intentionally sent money to gambling operators." MLB regulations prohibit players and team staff from betting on baseball games.