Former Shohei Ohtani translator Ibe Mizuhara stole more than $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star to cover millions of dollars in gambling debts, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
The office, which filed a criminal complaint against Mizuhara alleging bank fraud on Thursday, said Ohtani had no knowledge of the fraud and is considered a victim in the case.
The office said no bets were placed on baseball games.
Mizuhara has been Ohtani's translator for years. During that time, the lawyer's office discovered that Mizuhara had full access to Ohtani's bank accounts. The office said phone records indicate he accessed them online and lied to the bank, pretending to be Ohtani. He refused to grant access to the accounts to Ohtani's agent and other advisors.
On March 20, 2024, Mizuhara admitted to a bookmaker in an encrypted text message that he had stolen money from Ohtani, according to the complaint. “Technically, I stole from him. It's over for me,” he wrote.
Mizuhara was the subject of a federal investigation into multi-million dollar wire transfers from Ohtani's bank account to an illegal betting company starting in November 2021.
“Because of his position of trust, he had unique access to his financial resources and used and abused his position of trust to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said.
Lawyers for Ohtani, Mizuhara and the Dodgers declined to comment on the accusations.
Ohtani's scam was first discovered when the U.S. Department of Justice was looking into illegal sports betting operations in Southern California and the laundering of the proceeds from those operations through casinos in Las Vegas. The investigations led to the filing of criminal charges and/or convictions of 12 criminal defendants, the complaint said.
While sports gambling is legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C., it is illegal in California, driving some bettors into illegal operations.
Mizuhara faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison on the charges, and is expected to appear in court in the next two days.
Mizuhara kept his winnings in his bank account, Estrada said.
Although bettors are owed millions of dollars in losses, Mizuhara repeatedly asked them to increase his betting limits.
“Bad trip,” he texted the bookie. “Is there a chance you'll hit me again?? You know, I don't have to worry about not paying!!”
By November 2023, Mizuhara's debts have become crippling. He sent a message to the same bookmaker saying that he ended up losing a lot of money on cryptocurrency investments in the last couple of years and had great success in sports betting as well.
He said: “Is there any way to settle an amount? I have lost a lot on the site already… Of course I know this is my fault.”
Law enforcement officials said Ohtani was fully cooperating and allowed them access to his electronic devices.
Ohtani told officials that he believed his accountants and financial advisors monitored his accounts, and because he earned income from foreign and domestic sources, he generally did not ask about specific accounts, but rather about a comprehensive picture of his investment profile. However, due to the language barrier, agents and financial advisors communicate through Mizuhara to translate for their clients.
At a press conference on March 25, Ohtani said he had just learned about the robbery, and said he felt sad, shocked and betrayed by someone he trusted.
“I have never bet on baseball or any other sport and have never asked anyone to do it for me,” Ohtani said through another translator.
Previously, Mizuhara said Ohtani knew about the debts and was helping him pay them off. But he later retracted those statements.
Ohtani is one of the biggest stars in Major League Baseball. The 29-year-old Japanese-born pitcher joined the Dodgers on Dec. 9 with a record 10-year, $700 million contract after six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.
Ohtani is the only MLB player to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award by unanimous vote twice and the first Japanese-born player to lead a major league home run.
If Ohtani's involvement is discovered, it could violate MLB's gambling policy. Penalties range from season suspension to permanent disqualification.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Shohei Ohtani's first name.
