SANTA ANA, Calif — A federal judge sentenced Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter convicted of defrauding Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, to five years in prison, at a sentencing hearing inside Orange County Superior court on Thursday.
Prosecutors had requested a 57-month sentence, followed by three years of supervised release and restitution of nearly $17 million to Ohtani. They were granted exactly that. Mizuhara had asked for an 18-month sentence. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return in June, after formally being charged in April.
Mizuhara declined comment Thursday, through his lawyer.
Judge John W. Holcomb’s sentence brings a conclusion to an 11-month ordeal that rocked the baseball universe at the outset of last season. Mizuhara had worked alongside Ohtani for more than a decade, dating back to Ohtani’s playing days with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2013. He served as his interpreter, personal assistant, home run derby catcher, and close friend.
News: Ippei Mizuhara was sentenced to 57 months in prison. Beginning on March 24.
He will have three years of supervised release and is ordered to pay restitution of nearly $17 million to Shohei a Ohtani.
Gov’t got the sentence they requested. Mizuhara asked for 18 months.
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) February 6, 2025
Their professional relationship came to an end in March, when the Dodgers fired Mizuhara following accusations of theft surrounding the longtime Ohtani confidant. The Dodgers were in South Korea, facing the Padres to open the season. Mizuhara initially stated to the Dodgers, and in interviews, that Ohtani had loaned him money to repay gambling debts.
That story quickly unraveled, and prosecutors formally alleged weeks later that Mizuhara bet hundreds of millions of dollars with an illegal bookmaker and stole money to pay the bookie. Mizuhara, they said, accessed one of Ohtani’s bank accounts to pay off a betting debt that reached more than $40.6 million.
In audio first obtained by The Athletic in January, through the Department of Justice, Mizuhara called the bank, impersonating Ohtani in the hopes of wiring $200,000 from his account.
In a pre-sentencing letter to the judge, Mizuhara apologized to Ohtani for “violating his trust in me.” However, he also claimed to be “severely underpaid” and overworked by Ohtani, who relied on him for daily errands throughout much of the calendar year. Mizuhara also said he had developed a gambling addiction.
“Although I had always told myself that I would win it all back, as it became clear to me this was an impossibility, I think I just shut down,” Mizuhara wrote in the Jan. 23 letter. “But that did not stop me from placing more bets. I felt really antsy and anxious if I did not have an active bet. I felt pressure to stay in the game.”
Prosecutors responded in a Jan. 30 filing, pushing back against many of Mizuhara’s claims. They stated that he didn’t intend to pay Ohtani back, instead pocketing his winnings. They also claimed that Mizuhara did not have a past addiction to gambling.
“Instead of showing true remorse,” the government said in its filing, “defendant appears to try to justify stealing millions of dollars from Mr. Ohtani.”
Mizuhara could be deported back to Japan, his home country, following the completion of his sentence. His attorney, Michael Freedman, argued in a filing that it “is virtually certain” he will be deported, and that he will “continue to face great scrutiny and shame” if he is deported. Mizuhara grew up in the Los Angeles area, and attended Diamond Bar High School.
(Photo of Mizuhara leaving court Thursday: FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images)
