Surrender date for Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara delayed
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shoehei Ohtani, will surrender to federal agents on a later date after receiving a postponement, according to the Department of Justice.
Federal authorities could not specify a reason for the delay because of a sealed court order. Mizuhara was supposed to surrender on Monday, March 24 after pleading guilty in an illegal gambling case where he stole millions from the MLB star.
Following the plea, a federal court sentenced Mizuhara to four years and nine months in prison and ordered him to pay $18 million in restitution.
Federal prosecutors claimed Mizuhara lost substantial amounts of money after placing bets through an illegal sports bookie in September 2021. The MLB superstar's primary translator allegedly started wiring money from Ohtani's checking account in November 2021 and continued the unauthorized transfers until January 2024. Investigators said Mizuhara stole almost $17 million from Ohtani.
Last year, then-U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said Mizuhara also used Ohtani's money to pay for dental fees.
"Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case," Estrada said last year. "It is clear from the evidence that he did not profit from this. He did not benefit from this. He, in fact, was harmed substantially by this."
Mizuhara helped Ohtani, who primarily speaks Japanese, set up bank accounts upon his move to the U.S. after he signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017. Estrada said that one of these bank accounts, which was set up in Arizona, became the source of wire transfers to the bookmaker.
"I am very saddened and shocked someone whom I trusted has done this," the Japanese baseball star said through another interpreter in 2024. "Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies. ... I never bet on sports or have willfully sent money to the bookmaker."
Prosecutors said Ohtani's contact information with his bank changed to include an email address and phone number connected to Mizuhura. Investigators claimed that Mizuhara called the bank and impersonated Ohtani to push the wire transfers through.
