Federal prosecutors stated that there is no evidence to support Ippei Mizuhara’s claims of having a gambling addiction, which he says caused him to accumulate massive debts, according to court documents.
Mizuhara, who was Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter for a long time, is set to be sentenced on February 6 after pleading guilty to charges of bank and tax fraud in June.
Earlier in the year, Mizuhara admitted to stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay off sports betting debts. Prosecutors are seeking $16 million in restitution to Ohtani and an additional $1.1 million to the IRS.
Prosecutors have recommended a 57-month prison sentence with three years of supervised release, while Mizuhara’s attorney has requested an 18-month sentence. The defense claims Mizuhara has a “long-standing” gambling addiction, saying he owes $40.7 million and visited casinos four to five times a week. His lawyer added that Mizuhara attends Gamblers Anonymous meetings three times a week.
Prosecutors have responded by stating that Mizuhara gave “self-serving and uncorroborated statements” to the psychologist he hired for sentencing purposes.
“All defendants claim to be remorseful at the time of sentencing,” the prosecutors wrote. “The question courts must answer is whether the defendant is truly remorseful or whether they are just sorry they were caught.”
The investigation, according to prosecutors, found “only minimal evidence” of legal gambling in Mizuhara’s history after reviewing over 30 U.S. casinos. They found that Mizuhara spent $200 at one casino in 2008.
Prosecutors also said Mizuhara created a FanDuel account in 2018 but never made a bet. In 2023, he started using DraftKings after he had already stolen millions of dollars from Ohtani.
Shohei Ohtani reacts after fouling a pitch in the Game 3Prosecutors argue that Mizuhara did not have a large gambling debt as he claimed and that his actions, including stealing from Ohtani, were not due to gambling problems.
Last week, prosecutors released an audio recording where Mizuhara impersonated the Los Angeles Dodgers star to transfer $200,000 from Ohtani’s account, saying the money was for a car loan. The government also claims Mizuhara tried to make a fraudulent $40,000 transfer from Ohtani’s account in 2021 while having over $34,000 in his checking account.
“Mizuhara could have used his own money to pay the bookie but instead chose to steal from Mr. Ohtani,” prosecutors stated.
The federal criminal complaint reveals that Mizuhara placed 19,000 sports bets with an illegal bookie from December 2021 to January 2024, betting amounts between $10 and $160,000, with an average bet of $12,800. Mizuhara placed about 25 bets a day.
Records show he won about $142.3 million from sports wagers but lost over $182.9 million, resulting in a net loss of roughly $40.7 million.
Prosecutors argue that a “significant period of incarceration is necessary” for Mizuhara due to his theft from Ohtani, and claim that Mizuhara feels ashamed because of the international attention his fraud schemes have received.
