Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani wants his former interpreter to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards he says were fraudulently bought using his money.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star is also requesting Ippei Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly US$17 million from the unsuspecting athlete, return signed collectible baseball cards depicting Ohtani that were in Mizuhara’s “unauthorized and wrongful possession,” court documents filed on Tuesday said.
The legal filing alleges Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s bank account beginning in about November 2021, changing his security protocols so that he could impersonate him to authorize wire transfers.
Photo: AP
By this year, Mizuhara had used that money to buy about US$325,000 worth of baseball cards at online resellers eBay and Whatnot, the court documents said.
Mizuhara’s attorney, Michael Freedman, declined to comment on the filing.
Mizuhara pleaded guilty in June to spending millions from Ohtani’s bank account to cover his growing gambling bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker, as well as his own medical bills and the US$325,000 worth of baseball cards.
Mizuhara is due to be sentenced in January after pleading guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return, crimes that carry a potential sentence of more than 30 years in federal prison.
He also could be on the hook for restitution to Ohtani that could total nearly US$17 million, as well as more than US$1 million to the Internal Revenue Service, and as a legal permanent resident who has a green card, he might be deported to Japan.
Mizuhara stood by Ohtani’s side for many of the Japanese sensation’s 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 Most Valuable Player (MVP) wins and his record-shattering US$700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Off the field, Mizuhara became Ohtani’s friend and confidant. He famously resigned from the Los Angeles Angels during the 2021 MLB lockout so he could keep speaking to Ohtani — he was rehired after a deal was struck — and their wives reportedly socialized.
However, Mizuhara gambled it all away, betting tens of millions of dollars that were not his to wager on international soccer, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League and college football — although prosecutors said he never bet on baseball.
Earlier this year, Ohtani and the Dodgers won the MLB World Series, and the baseball star won his third MVP award.
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