Begging for some sort of leniency
As part of their case against Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, federal prosecutors presented recordings of phone calls with the bank during which the interpreter pretended to be the world-famous slugger.
Last Thursday, prosecutors recommended a 57-month sentence for Ippei Mizuhara, who in June pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return after admitting to pilfering $17 million from Ohtani to pay gambling debts.
His attorney, Michael G. Freedman, asked the court for an 18-month sentence, citing Mizuhara’s gambling addiction as a mitigating factor.
Convinced the bank
Mizuhara’s misrepresentation was not a one-off occurrence. Prosecutors showed that he called the bank about two dozen times pretending he was Ohtani in order to be able to wire money out of Ohtani’s account.
In one example, a recording of a call between Mizuhara and the bank on February 2, 2022, shows him telling the representative that he was Shohei Ohtani.
“I tried to make a wire transfer a couple of days ago,” he said, trying to explain why he had been unable to login to Ohtani’s account online. “They told me that’s probably the reason, they transferred me to this number.”
He was able to tell the representative the six-digit code used for two-factor authentication and then said he needed $200,000 for a car loan. The agent continued to ask questions about the person to whom he wanted to send the money – Mizuhara said he did know the person and had met him “many times.”
The bank rep sounded like she may have suspected something, asking Mizuhara how he got the recipient’s wire information. He said the person e-mailed it to him and he subsequently verified it in person. Preparing for future transfers, Mizuhara said that he would “possibly” send more money to the same person again.
Mizuhara apologizes, tries to explain
For his part, Mizuhara told the court and Shohei that he was sorry.
“….I truly admire Shohei as a baseball player and a human being and I was committed to devote my life so Shohei can be the best version of himself on the field,” Mizuhara wrote in a letter. “I want to say I am truly sorry for violating his trust in me.”
Mizuhara said that his gambling addiction began when he was 18 and that he had experienced financial struggles since moving to the United States from Japan with Ohtani.
When Ohtani was on the Angels, the team paid Mizuhara an $85,000 salary, later bumping it to $250,000. Upon going to the Dodgers, Mizuhara’s salary doubled. Ohtani also paid Mizuhara $2,500 per month during the offseason and $125 to $130 a month during the season.
Mizuhara said that between the cost of living in the L.A. area, paying for his wife’s travel between the US and Japan, and paying for his own lodging while traveling with Ohtani in the offseason, his finances were strained and he ended up borrowing money from friends and family.
He also said that he took on the duties that would normally be handled by multiple support staff.
Image credit: All-Pro Reels via Flickr.com
