Interpreter's Gambit: The $17 Million Betrayal of a Baseball Star

Ippei Mizuhara, a former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for embezzling $17 million from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts. The court ordered Mizuhara to pay over $18 million in restitution. He had impersonated Ohtani to perform unauthorized bank transactions.

In a scandal that rocked the Los Angeles Dodgers, former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for embezzling $17 million from baseball star Shohei Ohtani to settle his gambling debts.

The case, resolved in the U.S. District Court of California, mandated Mizuhara to repay over $18 million, according to court documents. Prosecutors revealed Mizuhara had pled guilty to felony bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return.

The elaborate scheme involved Mizuhara impersonating Ohtani to convince bank employees to authorize wire transfers secretly. Ohtani, recently signing a record $700 million contract, expressed he was an unwitting victim.

(With inputs from agencies.)