"'Otani's Close Friend' Admits Interpreter Charges... Otani Says, 'Now It's Time to Focus on Baseball'"

Former interpreter Itpei Mizuhara (39), who was indicted on charges of embezzling money from Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers) of Major League Baseball (MLB), admitted to the charges in court. On the 4th (local time), the Associated Press reported, "At the criminal trial held at the federal court in Santa Ana, California, Mizuhara admitted to all the charges brought by the prosecution." Although he did not admit to the charges of bank fraud and false income reporting during the indictment hearing held on the 14th, he had stated at the time that he would admit guilt later. He had already admitted guilt to the federal prosecutors on the 5th and negotiated sentencing, and had also waived the right to a grand jury indictment for a verdict on guilt or innocence.

Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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Mizuhara, who was Ohtani's interpreter and close friend, was fired after a 7-year relationship when financial misconduct was revealed during the MLB Seoul Series held in Seoul last March. He was indicted in April on charges of withdrawing about $17 million (approximately 23.38 billion KRW) from Ohtani's bank account and transferring it to a gambling operator's account by lying to the bank to approve the transaction in order to repay his sports gambling debts. He is also accused of omitting approximately $4.1 million of additional income when reporting his 2022 income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Mizuhara claimed that the transfers from Ohtani's account were made because he "agreed to repay on his behalf," but Ohtani's side denied this, saying, "We had no knowledge of it." Later, Ohtani changed his stance, stating that he was unaware of Mizuhara's gambling activities.

In this trial, Mizuhara only stated, "I worked for Ohtani, had access to his bank account, and was deeply in gambling debt. I transferred money from his bank account." There were no other statements, and his lawyer refused to comment outside the court. In the sentencing agreement with the prosecution, Mizuhara agreed to return about $17 million withdrawn from Ohtani's account to Ohtani and to pay $1,149,400 (approximately 158 million KRW) in taxes, interest, and fines to the IRS. However, this amount may be changed before the court's sentencing.

Earlier, the prosecution concluded that "there is no evidence that Ohtani knew about or was involved in Mizuhara's illegal gambling and debt repayment," based on Ohtani's testimony and cellphone records, and determined that Ohtani is a victim in this case.

After the trial, Ohtani's side stated, "The investigation is now complete, and Mizuhara's full admission of guilt has brought an important closure. We sincerely thank the authorities for conducting a thorough and effective investigation swiftly and uncovering all the evidence." They added, "Now it is time to close this chapter and move forward, continuing to focus on baseball games and victories." They also expressed gratitude to the team, family, and Dodgers organization for their endless support throughout this process.

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