A four-minute audio recording was disclosed by federal prosecutors Thursday that shows Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, allegedly attempting to push through a six-figure wire transfer from one of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ star’s accounts by impersonating him.
Mizuhara has been convicted of defrauding Ohtani, the National League MVP and world baseball superstar, and the recording, obtained by The Athletic from the Department of Justice, is a key piece of evidence.
It was mentioned in a court filing, which also had prosecutors recommending a nearly five-year sentence for Mizuhara and an order to repay Ohtani, according to The Athletic.
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Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty June 4, 2024, to bank and tax fraud in a sports betting case and admitted stealing nearly $17 million from Shohei Ohtani. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
Mizuhara, who is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 6, pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return after stealing almost $17 million from Ohtani, who he was best friends with for years, in June 2024.
The recording was obtained from a bank, assistant U.S. attorney Jeff Mitchell told The Athletic, and it supports prosecutors’ claims that Mizuhara would call banks to arrange wire transfers.
Prosecutors added that the recording was edited to redact bank names and the name of an “unindicated co-conspirator.”
FORMER SHOHEI OHTANI INTERPRETER PLEADS GUILTY TO CHARGES IN SPORTS BETTING CASE
In the recording, Mizuhara clearly states his name is Ohtani after the bank agent asks, “Who am I speaking with?” Mizuhara bypassed the bank’s security measures and changed Ohtani’s account information to include his own email and phone number.
So, when the bank agent asks Mizuhara to perform a two-factor authentication using a six-digit code sent to a phone number, he can do so because it’s going to his phone instead of Ohtani’s.
The recording shows Mizuhara matching the numbers, which allows the agent to work on his request, a car loan for $200,000.
“Now recently, we’ve come across a trend of fraud and scams, so we have been monitoring the online transactions closely to make sure our clients are not the victim of either,” the agent says first. “What is the reason for this transaction?”
Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara of the Los Angeles Dodgers during a press conference at Dodger Stadium Dec. 14, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Then, the agent asks “Ohtani” what his relationship to the payee is, to which Mizuhara says, “He’s my friend.”
“Have you met your friend in person”” the agent responds.
“Yes, many times,” Mizuhara answered.
Mizuhara said he stole from Ohtani to cover “major gambling debt,” which he said in a brief statement after pleading guilty.
“I went ahead and wired money … with his bank account,” Mizuhara said in the statement at the time.
Prosecutors asked that the restitution amount bet set at nearly $17 million for Ohtani, though it was noted Mizuhara is unable to pay that back to the All-Star. Another $1.1 million in restitution is being sought by the IRS.
Japanese interpreter Ippei Mizuhara attends a press conference at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles Dec. 14, 2023. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
The ex-interpreter’s winning bets totaled over $142 million, which he deposited into his own bank account and not Ohtani’s. His losing bets were around $183 million. He did not bet on baseball.
There is also no indication Ohtani bet on baseball.
The Athletic reported the court filing says that, between December 2021 and January 2024, Mizuhara placed around 19,000 bets online through Matthew Bowyer, his bookie who also pleaded guilty to running an illegal gambling business in August 2024.
Mizuhara’s debt was up to $40.7 million.
“His years-long theft of funds from Mr. Ohtani and the myriad lies he told to Mr. Ohtani’s agents and financial advisors to cover up his theft represent a calculated betrayal of the very person he was hired to help,” Mitchell wrote in the court filing.
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, arrives at federal court in Los Angeles June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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“To summarize how I’m feeling right now, I’m just beyond shocked,” Ohtani said in a statement on the matter last year. “It’s really hard to verbalize how I’m feeling at this point.
“I’m very saddened and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this.”
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