Baseball star Shohei Ohtani's ex-interpreter reports to federal prison in Pennsylvania

Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers baseball star Shohei Ohtani expected to be sentenced for bank and tax fraud arrives at federal court on Feb. 6 in Santa Ana, Calif. (AP Photo)
LOS ANGELES--The former Japanese interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani surrendered to a federal prison in Pennsylvania on Monday, beginning a nearly five-year prison sentence for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player.
Ippei Mizuhara, 40, was processed at a low security federal prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, his attorney Michael Freedman confirmed. The facility is about 125 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia.
Mizuhara was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana in February to four years and nine months for bank and tax fraud. He was also ordered to pay $18 million in restitution, with nearly $17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the IRS. He was sentenced to three years' supervised release on top of the prison sentence.
Authorities said Mizuhara began accessing Ohtani's account beginning in 2021 and changed its security protocols so he could impersonate Ohtani to authorize wire transfers. He has admitted to using the money to cover his growing gambling bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker, in addition to purchasing $325,000 worth of baseball cards and paying his own dental bills.
He was a close friend and confidant to Ohtani, standing by his side for many of his career highlights, from serving as his catcher during the Home Run Derby at the 2021 All-Star Game, to being there for his two American League MVP wins and his record-shattering $700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Mainichi

5 hours ago

• The Mainichi

Retired judo star Wolf announces move to professional wrestling

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo Olympic judo gold medalist Aaron Wolf announced Monday he is embarking on a new career in professional wrestling. The 29-year-old, who retired from judo earlier this month, has joined major grappling promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling. Wolf won men's 100-kilogram judo gold at his home Olympics in 2021 and finished seventh at the Paris Games three years later. He is scheduled to debut at a New Japan event at Tokyo Dome in January. Wolf, a longtime fan of professional wrestling, decided to make the switch after last summer's Olympics. "I had wanted to go into pro wrestling once I thought I could walk away from judo with no regrets," Wolf said at a press conference in Tokyo. "I am excited to challenge myself on a new stage." The Tokyo native, born to a Japanese mother and an American father, is already a popular media personality, making regular television appearances. With his move into the theatrical world of professional wrestling, he follows in the footsteps of countryman Naoya Ogawa, who won heavyweight judo silver at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics before becoming a pro wrestler. Japan's Hidehiko Yoshida, the 78-kg gold medalist in Barcelona, and Satoshi Ishii, the 2008 Beijing Games heavyweight champion, both went into mixed martial arts after retiring from judo.

6 hours ago

Ex-MUFG Bank Worker Defrauds Customer of 39.84 M. Yen

News from Japan Jun 23, 2025 19:51 (JST) Tokyo, June 23 (Jiji Press)--MUFG Bank said Monday that a former employee in his 60s has defrauded a customer out of 39.84 million yen by suggesting fictitious financial products and issuing forged deposit receipts. The Niigata District Public Prosecutors Office indicted the former worker at the major Japanese bank's Niigata branch for allegedly forging and using private documents the same day, after the bank filed a criminal complaint against him last November. The bank has already compensated the customer. The former worker solicited the customer to purchase fictitious financial products and defrauded the victim out of cash several times outside the branch between June 2007 and September 2016, according to the bank. He was in charge of over-the-counter general affairs and was not engaged in operations to sell financial products. The fraud came to light in August 2024 after the branch received a consultation from the customer after the worker's retirement. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press

Kyodo News

9 hours ago

• Kyodo News

Retired judo star Aaron Wolf announces move to professional wrestling

KYODO NEWS - 10 minutes ago - 16:51 | Sports, All Tokyo Olympic judo gold medalist Aaron Wolf announced Monday he is embarking on a new career in professional wrestling. The 29-year-old, who retired from judo earlier this month, has joined major grappling promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling. Wolf won men's 100-kilogram judo gold at his home Olympics in 2021 and finished seventh at the Paris Games three year later. The Tokyo native, born to a Japanese mother and American father, is already a popular media personality, making regular television appearances. With his move into the theatrical world of professional wrestling, he follows in the footsteps of countryman Naoya Ogawa, who won heavyweight judo silver at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics before becoming a pro wrestler. Related coverage: Judo: Kagawa wins 1st nat'l open-weight title, Abe loses in 2nd round FEATURE: Ukrainian kids practice sumo free from missile attack fears