Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges at a hearing in a Santa Ana federal courtroom on Tuesday. Mizuhara had pleaded not guilty last month as a procedural plea, as plans were already underway for the ex-associate to plead guilty as part of a federal plea deal.

According to reports, prosecutors charged Mizuhara with stealing around $16 million to cover debts he had incurred from sports gambling. One of the transactions was a $4.5 million wire from Ohtani’s bank account to a sports betting company run by Matthew Bowyer, an Orange County bookmaker currently under federal investigation. 

These days, casino and sports betting services are much more accessible, with many operators offering gamblers like Mizuhara options that support cryptocurrencies. For instance, Dogecoin lovers can find a gambling site accepting Doge to deposit and withdraw earnings via crypto to meet specific gambling needs, and enjoy fewer restrictions than when gambling with fiat currencies.

The complaint documents in court revealed that Mizuhara was deep into gambling and had placed about 19,000 wagers between December 2021 and January 2024. Interestingly, the complaint specified that although Mizuhara placed several bets on a few different sports, the bets were never on professional football. Unfortunately, these bets plunged him into a $40 million debt after he won a total of $142 million but lost $182 million. Mizuhara then began to move money from Ohtani’s bank account to cover the debt. Allegedly, the ex-translator and friend of Ohtani had helped the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar set up the account.

In court, the judge asked Mizuhara several questions about his plea deal, requiring only “yes” or “no” responses. This was to confirm that he agrees with the deal and understands there might be privileges lost from pleading guilty. In response to the judge asking for a description of the crime, the 39-year-old ex-interpreter said:

“I worked for Victim A and I had access to his bank account and I had fallen into major gambling debt, and the only way that I could think of was to use his money. I had access to Bank A. So I went and wired money for my gambling debt with his bank account.” 

Charging documents did not mention Ohtani’s name, referring to him only as “Victim A.”

The tax and bank fraud charges brought against Mizuhara carry a maximum sentence of 33 years. The former interpreter’s sentencing has been set for October 25 at 2 pm. 

Following Mizuhara’s admittance, Ohtani published a statement via a spokesperson, specifying that he and his family can now find closure. 

“I want to sincerely thank the authorities for finishing their thorough and effective investigation so quickly and uncovering all of the evidence…It’s time to close this chapter, move on and continue to focus on playing and winning ball games,” Ohtani’s statement noted.

The scandal began in March when Ohtani’s lawyers accused Mizuhara of stealing several million dollars to cover bets. Days after the official accusation, Ohtani said he was “saddened and shocked” about the allegations against him, stating that he has never participated in any offline or online gambling on any sports and has never asked anyone to do it on his behalf.