This story sounds like it was ripped straight from a Hollywood script—except it’s all too real, and Major League Baseball is dealing with the blowback. Ippei Mizuhara, the man who was once Shohei Ohtani’s trusted MLB interpreter, closest confidant, and right-hand man, is now heading to federal prison for nearly five years after pulling off one of the most stunning betrayals in sports history.
A Deeply Personal Betrayal
Now, if you’ve followed Ohtani’s meteoric rise in Major League Baseball, you know how crucial Mizuhara was to his journey.
The guy was more than just an interpreter—he was Ohtani’s bridge to American culture, a handler for his off-field business, and, by all accounts, one of the few people in the MLB superstar’s inner circle.
But instead of protecting Ohtani’s interests, Mizuhara used that trust to steal nearly $17 million to fund a secret gambling habit.
Here’s how it all unraveled. In March 2024, a federal probe into an illegal California bookmaker exposed the shocking truth: Mizuhara had been siphoning money from Ohtani’s personal accounts since 2021, impersonating him in bank transactions to approve wire transfers.
This wasn’t just some minor financial misstep—this was calculated deception on a grand scale. Mizuhara used his unique access to exploit Ohtani’s finances while presenting himself as the loyal, ever-reliable assistant.
The Court Wasn’t Buying His Excuses
Judge John W. Holcomb didn’t hold back in court, calling the theft “shockingly high.” Prosecutors weren’t buying Mizuhara’s claim that he was just a gambling addict who made a “terrible mistake.”
In fact, they pointed out that there was little evidence he had a deep gambling problem before he started stealing from Ohtani. In other words, this wasn’t some tragic case of addiction—it was straight-up fraud.
And it gets worse. While Mizuhara expressed remorse and apologized in court, the judge found his explanations less convincing, especially given the omission and misrepresentation in his letter to the court.
Here’s where the timing of all this makes it even more jaw-dropping. Ohtani’s massive 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers was just about to take effect when this scandal broke.
But even before that, he wasn’t exactly strapped for cash—he earned around $65 million in salary from his time with the Angels, plus millions more from endorsements.
Yet somehow, Mizuhara thought he could get away with pocketing $17 million from one of the most recognizable athletes in the world.
Can Ohtani Ever Recover the Money?
For his crimes, Mizuhara has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison and ordered to repay $17 million to Ohtani—an amount that seems nearly impossible to recover.
He also has to pay more than $1 million in fines to the IRS. Whether Ohtani will ever see a dime of that money back remains to be seen.
This is a cautionary tale about trust, power, and the risks of letting someone too deep into your financial world. Ohtani may be one of the greatest MLB talents we’ve ever seen, but even he wasn’t immune to deception.
Mizuhara had access, he had control, and he had Ohtani’s absolute trust. And in the end, he threw it all away.
