Mizuhara Ippei, former interpreter for Major League Baseball (MLB) superstar Ohtani Shohei of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been sentenced to prison in a U.S. court for embezzling Ohtani’s money.
According to reports from AP News on Friday, the U.S. District Court in Orange County, California, sentenced Mizuhara to 4 years and 9 months in prison on bank and tax fraud charges. The court also ordered him to pay $18 million in restitution. Approximately $17 million must be returned to Ohtani, while the remaining sum must be paid to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Mizuhara was not only Ohtani’s interpreter but also a close friend. However, in March of last year, it was revealed that he had fallen into illegal gambling and stolen Ohtani’s money. Mizuhara used Ohtani’s password to access his bank account, changed the registered email address and phone number to his own, and set up the system so that he would receive all bank transfer confirmations. By impersonating Ohtani more than 20 times, he stole approximately $17 million. Mizuhara admitted to his crimes.