Ex-Ohtani interpreter gets 57-month sentence

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Ippei Mizuhara was sentenced Thursday to nearly five years in prison for stealing about $17 million from Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani to repay gambling debts.

U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb gave Ohtani's former interpreter a 57-month sentence and three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay nearly $17 million in restitution to Ohtani and $1.1 million to the IRS.

"I want to say I am truly sorry to Mr. Ohtani for what I have done," Mizuhara, 40, said in court.

Mizuhara was ordered to surrender to authorities to begin serving his sentence by March 24. His attorney, Michael G. Freedman, said he expects Mizuhara, a Japanese citizen, to be deported at a later date.

"The magnitude of the theft -- $17 million -- in my view, is shockingly high," Holcomb said upon issuing the sentence.

Holcomb said most people don't make that much money in their lifetime.

"I hope that Mr. Mizuhara will be able to repay that sum," Holcomb said. "That remains to be seen."

Ohtani's attorneys and spokesperson did not respond to ESPN's request for comment.

The Dodgers fired Mizuhara in March after an ESPN investigation revealed that he had sent millions in wire transfers from Ohtani's account to an illegal bookmaker. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return in June, admitting that he placed about 19,000 bets with the bookie over a two-year period and accumulated over $40 million in debt.

"Mr. Mizuhara had a unique position of trust that gave him power, brought him fame, and paid him well," Joseph T. McNally, acting United States Attorney for the Central District of California, said in a news release. "Unfortunately, he exploited this dream job to steal millions of dollars from his friend and confidant. This is a sad tale of an American success story gone wrong -- so wrong that Mr. Mizuhara will be spending years inside a prison cell."

After the hearing, McNally said outside the courthouse that Ohtani is the victim in this case.

Prosecutors recommended a 57-month sentence, while Mizuhara's lawyer asked for an 18-month sentence, citing a long-standing gambling addiction. But in a court filing, prosecutors said there was "only minimal evidence" that Mizuhara had gambled before he began stealing from Ohtani.

"Mr. Mizuhara's addiction was drastic," Freedman said in court. "Astronomical sums were involved."

Freedman said Mizuhara's gambling addiction was "inflamed" because of the huge amount of credit the bookie gave him, knowing Mizuhara worked for Ohtani.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Mitchell told the court that when Mizuhara began stealing from Ohtani in 2021, the Japanese superstar earned $250,000 at the Los Angeles Angels.

"Mizuhara stole almost half of everything Ohtani made with the Angels," Mitchell said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.