A four-minute audio recording was unsealed by federal prosecutors on Thursday that shows Shohei Ohtani's The former translator, Ippei Mizuhara, allegedly attempted to push a negative six-figure quote from one of the Los Angeles Dodgers star's novels by impersonating him.
Mizuhara was convicted of fraud National League MVP And the world baseball star, and the registration, which the athlete obtained from the Ministry of Justice, is key evidence.
It was mentioned in a court filing, in which prosecutors were also calling for a prison sentence of nearly five years for Mizuhara and an order to repay Otani, according to The Athletic.
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Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty on June 4, 2024, to bank and tax defraud in a sports betting case and admitted to stealing approximately $17 million from Shohei Ohtani. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, file)
Mizuhara, who is scheduled to be sentenced February 6, He pleaded guilty for bank fraud and filing a false tax return after stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani, with whom he had been best friends for years, in June 2024.
The recording was obtained from a bank, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Mitchell told The Athletic, and supports prosecutors' claims that Mizuhara would call banks to arrange wire transfers.
Prosecutors added that the recording was redacted to the names of the transferred banks and the names of “co-conspirators.”
Former translator for Shohei Otani pleads guilty to charges in sports betting case
In the recording, Mizuhara clearly states that his name is Ohtani after the banking agent asks, “Who am I talking to?” Mizuhara bypassed the bank's security measures and changed Ohtani's account information to include his email and phone number.
So, when the banking agent asks Mizuhara to perform two-factor authentication using a six-digit code sent to the phone number, he can do so because it goes to his phone instead of Ohtani's.
The registration shows Mizuhara matching the numbers, allowing the agent to act on his request, for a car loan in the amount of $200,000.
“We have recently come across the trend of scams and scams, so we have been closely monitoring online transactions to make sure our customers are not a victim of either,” says Agent First. “What is the reason for this deal?”
Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara of the Los Angeles Dodgers during a news conference at Dodger Stadium on December 14, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB via Getty Images)
Next, the agent asks Ohtani what his relationship with the patron is, to which Mizuhara says, “He's my friend.”
“Have you met your friend in person,” the agent replies.
“Yes, several times,” Mizuhara replied.
He stole from Otani to cover “major gambling debts,” Mizuhara said in a brief statement after he pleaded guilty.
“I went ahead and connected the money…with his bank account,” Mizuhara said in the statement at the time.
Prosecutors asked for the restitution to be approximately $17 million for Ohtani, although it was noted that Mizuhara was unable to pay that to the All-Star. Another $1.1 million is being sought by the IRS.
Japanese translator Ippei Mizuhara attends a press conference at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles December 14, 2023. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
The former actor's bets totaled more than $142 million, which was deposited into his bank account and not Ohtani's. His losing bets were about $183 million. He didn't bet on baseball.
There is also no mention of betting on baseball.
The Athletic reported that the court filing says that between December 2021 and January 2024, Mizuhara placed about 19,000 bets online via Matthew Boyer, a bookmaker who also pleaded guilty to operating an illegal gambling business in August 2024.
Mizuhara's debts were as much as $40.7 million.
“The theft of money represents a calculated betrayal of the very person they were hired to help,” Mitchell wrote in The Home Probrayal to the very person he was hired to help. “From Mr. Otani and what not a number of the times he told on Mr. Otani's clients to financial advisors at The Mitchell represent a calculated betrayal of the very person he was hired to help.” The court filed.
Ippei Mizuhara, former translator for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Otani, arrives at federal court in Los Angeles on June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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“To sum up how I feel right now, I am getting over the shock,” Otani said in a statement on the issue last year. “It's really hard to pinpoint how I feel at this point.
“I feel very sad and shocked that someone I trusted did this.”
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