Ohtani's ex-interpreter Mizuhara begins prison sentence
Ippei Mizuhara, a former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, has begun serving his prison sentence at a federal facility in Pennsylvania, sources said Monday.
In February, Mizuhara, 40, was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison on charges of bank and tax fraud in a high-profile theft case in which Ohtani was the victim.
According to federal authorities, Mizuhara is being detained at a low security federal correctional institution in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. This facility has the second lowest security level among the five tiers of security for U.S. prisons, which are classified depending on factors such as the severity of crime and the risk of inmate escape.
As Mizuhara does not have U.S. citizenship, he is expected to be deported to Japan after serving his sentence.
Federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Mizuhara in April 2024, after the former interpreter was found to have fraudulently transferred some $17 million from Ohtani's bank account, without the Major League Baseball superstar's permission, in order to repay debts incurred through illegal gambling.
Mizuhara was originally scheduled to surrender to federal authorities by March, but the deadline was extended twice at his requests. The reset deadline was Monday.
He has also been ordered to pay back Ohtani.
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