Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, turns himself in today to appear in court in sports betting case

THE ANGELS — Ippei Mizuhara, former performer for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, turned himself in to authorities and is now in federal custody, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said.

He is expected to appear in federal court Friday afternoon.

The video is from a previous report.

Federal authorities on Thursday charged Ohtani’s former performer with federal bank fraud, alleging he stole more than $16 million from the Japanese sensation to cover bets and debts.

Mizuhara, a constant presence alongside Ohtani at ballparks across the country since 2018, abused the player’s trust in him and took advantage of the language barrier to loot a bank account that only he could access, prosecutors said. .

Federal prosecutor Martin Estrada said Mizuhara was so intertwined in Ohtani’s life and career that he became the star’s “de facto manager.” The role allowed him to withdraw money from the account (sometimes by lying and posing as Ohtani to bank employees) to finance his “insatiable appetite for illegal sports betting.”

Thursday’s announcement, at a packed news conference in downtown Los Angeles, ended weeks of speculation about Mizuhara’s admitted gambling problems, the sweeping federal investigation and Ohtani’s role in the scandal.

“I want to emphasize this point: Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case,” he said.

The criminal complaint, which detailed the scheme through text messages, financial records and phone call recordings, showed that even Mizuhara knew the game was up. In a message to his illegal betting house on March 20, the day the Los Angeles Times and ESPN broke news of the investigation, he wrote: “Technically, I stole from you. It’s all over for me.”

Mizuhara faces up to 30 years in federal prison if convicted of a single count of bank fraud. His attorney, Michael G. Freedman, declined to comment Thursday. Mizuhara’s first appearance in federal court is likely to occur this week.

“Given the information revealed (Thursday) and other information we have already gathered, we will wait until the resolution of the criminal proceedings to determine whether further investigation is warranted,” MLB said in a statement.

MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from betting, even legally, on baseball. The MLB also prohibits betting on other sports with illegal or foreign bookmakers.

Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels in December to sign a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. Ohtani and Mizuhara had been daily companions since Ohtani joined the Angels in 2018. Ohtani’s baseball salaries before the deal with the Dodgers totaled around $40 million, though he is also expected to make tens of millions at least in endorsements each. anus.

Federal investigators say Mizuhara placed about 19,000 bets between December 2021 and January 2024, nearly 25 bets per day on average. Bets ranged from approximately $10 to $160,000 per bet, with an average of around $12,800. Estrada said investigators found no evidence that Mizuhara had bet on baseball.

While Mizuhara’s winning bets totaled more than $142 million, which he deposited into his own bank account and not Ohtani’s, his losing bets were around $183 million, a net loss of nearly $41 million. Dollars.

At one point, the bookmaker was unable to locate Mizuhara and threatened to approach Ohtani, identified as Victim A in the criminal complaint.

“Hi Ippie, it’s 2 o’clock on Friday. I don’t know why you’re not returning my calls. I’m here in Newport Beach and I see (Victim A) walking her dog,” the bookie wrote to Mizuhara. on November 17, 2023. “I’m going to go up and talk to him and ask him how I can contact you since he’s not responding. Please call me right away.”

The alleged fraud also encompassed the lucrative souvenir market. Investigators seized approximately 1,000 collectible baseball cards, including those of players such as Yogi Berra, and discovered approximately $325,000 in transactions to online retailers between January and March. Authorities believe Mizuhara purchased the cards on the sites with the intention of reselling them later.

Conflicting reports plagued the start of the baseball season last month, prompting a swift filing of charges.

“We understood that there was significant public interest in this case,” Estrada said.

Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani paid off his gambling debts at the performer’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football.

But ESPN said Mizuhara changed his story the next day, saying Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to the betting houses.

Ohtani said he first became aware of Mizuhara’s gambling problem during a team meeting after the Dodgers’ March 20 win over the San Diego Padres in Seoul during MLB’s first game in South Korea. . The LA Times and ESPN published their stories about him hours later.

“It makes me very sad and surprised that someone I trusted did this,” the Japanese star said through a new interpreter.

“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and lying,” Ohtani said. “I never bet on sports nor have I intentionally sent money to the bookmaker.”

According to the criminal complaint, the Mizuhara case arose from a broader investigation of illegal sports betting organizations operating in Southern California and the laundering of profits through casinos in Las Vegas.

“To date, these investigations have led to criminal charges and/or convictions of 12 criminal defendants and one money services business, as well as non-prosecution agreements with two Las Vegas casinos,” the complaint says. “Investigations are ongoing and have multiple objectives, not all of which are interrelated.”

Associated Press writer John Antczak contributed to this report.