The former translator of Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to illegally transferring $17 million out of the baseball phenom's account without his knowledge, authorities said Wednesday.
Ippei Mizuhara, 39, will plead guilty to single counts of bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return, according to federal prosecutors in Southern California.
"The extent of this defendant's deception and theft is massive," said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said. "He took advantage of his position of trust to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani and fuel a dangerous gambling habit."
Mizuhara was an employee of Ohtani's former team, the Los Angeles Angels, but the player "paid him separately for the additional work of driving him to meetings and interpreting for non-baseball-related activities," according to prosecutors.
Mizuhara in September 2021 began making bets with an illegal bookmaker, authorities said, losing wagers and running up a massive bill.
"Unable to pay his gambling debts, Mizuhara orchestrated a scheme to deceive and cheat the bank to fraudulently obtain money from" Ohtani's account, according to a statement by prosecutors.
Mizuhara used Ohtani's password to get to the player's bank account, without the player's knowledge or permission, prosecutors said.
"Specifically, Mizuhara changed the registered email address and telephone number on the account so bank employees would call him — not Ohtani — when attempting to verify wire transfers from the account," according to federal authorities.
The interpreter even "impersonated Ohtani" and used the player's "personal identifying information to deceive the bank's employees" to make wire transfers, authorities said. He allegedly called the bank 24 hours to pretend being Ohtani, officials said.