Ippei Mizuhara Turns Himself Into Authorities After Stealing $16 Million From Shohei Ohtani

Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter of Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, has turned himself in to local authorities after being charged with bank fraud.

The 39-year-old is reportedly in federal custody and is set to appear in court in Los Angeles at 1 p.m. PST. Authorities charged Mizuhara with federal bank fraud on Thursday, after he allegedly stole roughly $16 million in an attempt to cover his "insatiable" betting addiction. 

Mizuhara reportedly made nearly 25 bets per day from December 2021 through January 2024, with an average wager of $12,600. While he did win $142 million, he also lost $183 million, for a total loss of $41 million. After searching through his history of wagers, authorities determined that he did not place any wagers on the MLB.

Shohei Ohtani (left) speaks with his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara (right) prior to being introduced by the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on December 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

One of the most damning pieces of evidence of the interpreter’s guilt came from Mizuhara himself. In a message to an illegal bookkeeper on March 20, Mizuhara wrote, "Technically I did steal from him. it's all over for me." That was the same day the Los Angeles Times and ESPN broke news of an investigation into Mizuhara’s dealings.

Furthermore, all of this evidence gathered at this point suggests that Ohtani knew nothing of his interpreter's actions, and thus absolved the two-way phenom of any wrongdoing in the case. 

If convicted of even one count of bank fraud, ABC 7 Chicago reported that Mizuhara could face up to 30 years in prison. Mizuhara is expected to plead guilty to his charges.