Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has received a new date to report to federal prison for crimes related to his gambling. Mizuhara is scheduled to surrender to federal authorities by 12 May, according to court filings unsealed this week.
The disgraced confidant of the MLB star was sentenced to in February to 57 months imprisonment for embezzling $17 million (€15.8 million/£13.2 million) from Ohtani. The interpreter used the stolen funds to repay a portion of his sports gambling debts with an illegal California bookmaker.
The new date is nearly two months past Mizuhara’s initial reporting deadline of 24 March. Mizuhara pleaded guilty last June to one count of bank fraud and a count of signing a fraudulent tax return.
Delayed reporting date
Over a 37-month span, Mizuhara placed more than 19,000 wagers with an enterprise operated by bookmaker Matt Bowyer. The bets ranged from as little as $10 to as much as $160,000. In total, Mizuhara rang up losses of approximately $182.9 million, an amount offset by wins of $142.3 million.
US District Judge John W Holcomb sentenced Mizuhara to nearly five years in prison, an amount that hovered on the low end of federal sentencing guidelines. Mizuhara impersonated Ohtani approximately 24 times in attempts to wire large amounts from his boss’ bank account to cover the debts. Major League Baseball closed its investigation against Ohtani after deeming him a victim of fraud. Ohtani has been cleared by federal authorities.
Mizuhara tearfully apologised to Ohtani during his sentencing for betraying the trust of the baseball phenom. While Mizuhara stole millions from Ohtani’s account to repay a portion of the debts, he never returned his winnings back into the account, prosecutors alleged.
Breaking — Judge Holcomb sentenced Ippei Mizuhara to 57 months, imposing a sentence at the low end of the federal guidelines. Mizuhara remained calm as Holcomb read his sentence. Mizuhara told the court he is truly sorry to Shohei #Ohtani and he's prepared to face his punishment pic.twitter.com/wDYPMzA06f
— Matt Rybaltowski (@MattRybaltowski) February 6, 2025
Some of the funds were sent to an associate of Bowyer’s, who transferred the funds to at least two casinos in Las Vegas and Southern California, ESPN reported.
Michael Freedman, Mizuhara’s attorney, declined to comment. Freedman petitioned the court for a new surrender date last month.
The talk of the conference
Holcomb unsealed the files several days after the Nevada Gaming Commission approved a $10.5 million fine against Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV). The settlement resolves a 12-count complaint issued by the Nevada Gaming Control Board over the casino’s purported anti-money laundering deficiencies.
Several illegal bookmakers, including Bowyer, allegedly laundered millions of dollars through the glitzy casino located on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. Bowyer is awaiting sentencing in October for his money laundering conviction.
The Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously approved one of the largest penalties in state history over historic AML failures at Resorts World Las Vegas, second only to Wynn’s $20M fine in 2019 https://t.co/Wm0RGIJltJ pic.twitter.com/q4JqWAZDop
— GGB (@GlobalGamingBiz) March 28, 2025
RWLV did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement. The fine is the second largest of a casino in state history. The settlement has served as a hot topic this week at the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention in San Diego. Jeff Mitchell, the lead prosecutor in the Mizuhara case, gave a presentation on combatting money laundering at the conference on Tuesday.
Destination unknown
While there are 13 standalone federal prisons and eight prison camps in California, it is still unclear where Mizuhara is headed. At Mizuhara’s sentencing, Freedman made a request for Mizuhara to be imprisoned near his client’s residence in Southern California. There is a possibility that Mizuhara will be deported to Japan upon the completion of his sentence.
Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in 2023. The Dodgers star ranked No 13 on Forbes’ 2024 list of the world’s highest-paid athletes, with total earnings of $85.3 million. He was the only baseball player to receive inclusion in the Top 25.
Mizuhara first met Ohtani in 2013 when the latter made his rookie debut for the Hokkaidō Nippon-Ham Fighters, a pro baseball team in Japan.
