The man who worked as an interpreter for Shohei Ohtani is about to face sentencing for tax and bank fraud. Ohtani lost about $17 million in stolen funds from his account.
The plan was for Ippei Mizhuara, a Japanese pitcher who had played for the Anaheim Angels in the past, to help Ohtani communicate with his English-speaking colleagues and fans. On the other hand, Mizuhara used the language barrier to her advantage, drawing attention away from Ohtani while he was close to the two-way player’s power.
Last year, Mizuhara entered a guilty plea to federal charges stemming from an international media frenzy surrounding his alleged theft of funds from Ohtani’s bank account to pay for sports gambling bets and debts.
Lawsuit Involving Shohei Ohtani’s Former Interpreter
On Thursday, a federal judge in Santa Ana will hear his sentencing case. To pay off some of Ohtani’s gambling wagers and debts that he had accrued with an illicit bookmaker, Mizuhara admittedly stole roughly $17 million from his bank account.
According to gambling news reports, the ex-interpreter reportedly wagered tens of millions of dollars on college football, the NBA, the NFL, and international soccer, but not baseball. Mizuhara utilized the funds for other expenses, including his dental work and $325,000 in baseball cards.
As early as 2021, Mizuhara allegedly gained access to Ohtani’s account and modified its security settings to enable him to conduct wire transactions in his guise. In 2018, while Ohtani was playing for the Angels in the United States, Mizuhara assisted him in opening a bank account.
When Ohtani’s sports gambling debt started piling up in 2021, Mizuhara accessed his account using the password he remembered. From March 2024 through March 2025, he made many withdrawals from the account to settle his debt and cover other obligations. Ohtani was scared his financial advisors and sports agent would find out he had stolen the money, so Mizuhara informed them that the athlete didn’t want them to access the account.
