Interpreter Ohtani allegedly stole $16 million, placed nearly 20,000 bets

Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, has been charged with bank fraud after allegedly stealing $16 million from his former employer. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada announced the federal charges Thursday.

The federal complaint says Mizuhara placed about 19,000 bets between December 2021 and January 2024, that he won about $142 million on those bets while losing about $182 million — meaning he was about $40 million in the hole. The complaint adds that the records show no bets on baseball games.

Estrada noted Thursday that Ohtani “is considered a victim in this case” and that Mizuhara — Ohtani's longtime interpreter and confidant — “had unique access to Mr. Ohtani's finances” and that he used that position to take advantage of athlete.

Ohtani fired Mizuhara last month amid a strange series of events that began with an ESPN report about a wire transfer of $4.5 million from Ohtani's bank account to an illegal betting operation. Ohtani's camp initially said Ohtani approved the transfer in order to get Mizuhara out of debt before changing their story and accusing Mizuhara of “mass theft.”

Ohtani issued a statement about the incident, telling the press that he was “shocked and saddened” by the allegations against Mizuhara, while insisting that he is not playing himself. “I have never bet on baseball or any other sport, or asked anyone to do so on my behalf. I've never gone through a bookmaker to bet on sports,” he said.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Mizuhara was negotiating a plea and that a federal investigation into the theft was “quickly coming to an end.”