Ippei Mizuhara, a Former Interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, Reports to a Federal Jail

After stealing around $17 million from Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, Ippei Mizuhara, the disgraced former interpreter for Ohtani, turned himself in to a federal jail in Pennsylvania on Monday, starting a sentence of nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud.

According to his lawyer Michael Freedman, Mizuhara, 40, was processed at a federal prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, which is low security. About 125 miles northwest of Philadelphia is where the plant is located.

In February, Mizuhara was given a four-year, nine-month term for bank and tax fraud in a federal court in Santa Ana. In addition, he was mandated to pay $18 million in restitution, of which the IRS received the remaining $17 million and Ohtani roughly $17 million.

Shohei Ohtani and his fraud interpreter

In addition to his prison term, he was given a three-year supervised release. According to authorities, Mizuhara started gaining access to Ohtani’s account in 2021 and altered its security settings to allow him to pretend to be Ohtani in order to approve wire payments. He has acknowledged using the funds to pay off his mounting debts and gambling wagers with an illegal bookmaker.

Over the course of two years, he placed roughly 19,000 bets with the bookmaker, bought $325,000 worth of baseball cards, and paid his own dental bills, all while accruing more than $40 million in debt.

He was Ohtani’s close friend and confidant, supporting him through many of the highlights of his career, including his two American League MVP victories, his record-breaking $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers, and his role as his catcher during the 2021 All-Star Game’s Home Run Derby.

Although a federal judge allowed the deferral, Mizuhara was originally scheduled to report to prison in March. The cause of the delay is still unknown.

As a Japanese national, Mizuhara’s lawyer has previously said he anticipates Mizuhara’s eventual deportation.

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