Ippei Mizuhara sports betting case: Shohei Ohtani interpreter pleads guilty

Law Journals

As an interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara was supposed to bridge the gap between baseball star Shohei Ohtani and his English-speaking teammates and fans as the duo traveled from Southern California to ballparks across the U.S.

Instead, Mizuhara exploited the Japanese-English language barrier to isolate Ohtani and profit, in the truest sense, from his proximity to the two-way player ‘s power. On Tuesday, the ex-interpreter pleaded guilty in federal court in Santa Ana, California, to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly $17 million from the unsuspecting athlete’s Arizona bank account.

He spent the money to cover his growing gambling bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker, plus $325,000 worth of baseball cards and, to the shock of prosecutors, his own medical bills.

“In fact, after we announced the charges, we only discovered more fraud in this case,” said Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. “We discovered Mr. Mizuhara had victimized Mr. Ohtani to the extent that he wouldn’t even pay for dental. He stole money from Mr. Ohtani to pay for his own dental expenses.”

The case involved arguably the world’s most famous baseball player and the sport’s most valuable voice. Despite the international media frenzy, Tuesday’s 45-minute proceeding was fairly mundane: Ohtani was known as “Victim A” inside the courtroom and the ex-interpreter only spoke to acknowledge his guilt.

The case involved arguably the world’s most famous baseball player and the sport’s most valuable voice. Despite the international media frenzy, Tuesday’s 45-minute proceeding was fairly mundane: Ohtani was known as “Victim A” inside the courtroom and the ex-interpreter only spoke to acknowledge his guilt.

“I worked for Victim A and had access to his bank account and had fallen into major gambling debt,” Mizuhara told the judge. “I went ahead and wired money … with his bank account.”

He and his attorney declined to comment after the hearing.

Inside baseball, Mizuhara stood by Ohtani’s side for many of the Japanese sensation’s career highlights, from serving as his catcher during the Home Run Derby at the 2021 All-Star Game, to being there for his two American League MVP wins and his record-shattering $700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Off the field, Mizuhara became Ohtani’s friend and confidant. He famously resigned from the Los Angeles Angels during the 2021 MLB lockout so he could keep speaking to Ohtani — he was rehired after a deal was struck — and their wives reportedly socialized.

But Mizuhara gambled it all away, betting tens of millions of dollars that weren’t his to wager on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football — though prosecutors said he never bet on baseball.

Estrada, the U.S. attorney, said Ohtani was particularly vulnerable, despite his fame.

“Mr. Ohtani is an immigrant who came to this country, is not familiar with the ways of this country and therefore was easily prey to someone who was more familiar with our financial systems,” Estrada said during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles after the hearing.

Federal prosecutors said Mizuhara’s scheme began in 2021 when he switched the bank account’s contact information from Ohtani’s to his own, meaning any communication from the financial institution would be sent directly to him without Ohtani knowing.

Mizuhara capitalized on the language barrier to keep Ohtani’s financial advisers from understanding their client, and at times, Mizuhara even impersonated the player to the bank to prolong the fraud.

The ploy allowed Mizuhara to plunder just under $17 million from the account — which he’d helped Ohtani set up in Phoenix in 2018 to deposit his paychecks — from 2021 until earlier this year.

Mizuhara’s winning wagers totaled over $142 million, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani’s. But his losing bets were around $183 million, a net loss of nearly $41 million.

Tuesday’s guilty plea was anticipated after Mizuhara agreed to a deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office last month. He pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, which carries up to 30 years in federal prison, and one count of subscribing to a false tax return, which could add a maximum of three years of incarceration.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October. Mizuhara also could be on the hook for restitution to Ohtani that could total nearly $17 million, as well as more than $1 million to the IRS. And as a legal permanent resident who has a green card, he might be deported to Japan. The investigation into Mizuhara stemmed from a broader probe of illegal sports bookmaking organizations in Southern California and the laundering of proceeds through casinos in Las Vegas. Overall, authorities have netted a dozen defendants.

Related listings

  • Court to hear actor Smollett appeal of conviction for staging racist attack

    Court to hear actor Smollett appeal of conviction for staging racist attack

    Law Journals 03/31/2024

    The Illinois Supreme Court will hear an appeal of actor Jussie Smollett’s disorderly conduct conviction for staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019, then lying to Chicago police about it.The court on Wednesday accepted th...

  • Supreme Court skeptical of man who offered adult adoptions

    Supreme Court skeptical of man who offered adult adoptions

    Law Journals 03/27/2023

    The Supreme Court seemed inclined Monday to rule against a man convicted of violating immigration law for offering adult adoptions he falsely claimed would lead to citizenship.Attorneys for Helaman Hansen told the justices during approximately 90 min...

  • Kentucky Supreme Court strikes down school choice law

    Kentucky Supreme Court strikes down school choice law

    Law Journals 12/15/2022

    School choice advocates suffered a bitter defeat Thursday, when Kentucky’s Supreme Court struck down a state law that allowed donors to receive tax credits for supporting private school tuition.In its unanimous decision, the high court said the...

Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs

When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.

In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.

In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.