Major League Baseball released a statement to members of the media Tuesday regarding Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, with Alden González of MLB among those relaying it on X: “Based on the thoroughness of the federal investigation that was made public, the information MLB collected, and the criminal proceeding being resolved without being contested, MLB considers Shohei Ohtani a victim of fraud and this matter has been closed.”
Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s former interpreter, officially pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges in federal court Tuesday morning, as also relayed by González on X. Mizuhara’s sentencing is set for Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. PST.
The Dodgers also released a statement on the matter on X: “With [Tuesday's] plea in the criminal proceedings against Ippei Mizuhara and the conclusion of both federal and MLB investigations, the Dodgers are pleased that Shohei and the team can put this entire matter behind them and move forward in pursuit of a World Series title.”
MLB announced in March that its Department of Investigations would investigate the matter. That followed the emergence of various news reports connecting Mizuhara and Ohtani to an illegal gambling ring in California, where sports betting is not legal.
Mizuhara initially told members of the press that he had run up sizeable gambling debts and that Ohtani had agreed to help him by wiring money to the bookmaker. Attorneys representing Ohtani later said that the player had been “the victim of a massive theft.” Ohtani spoke about the situation, accusing Mizuhara of stealing and lying about his money.
In April, federal officials officially charged Mizuhara, with the full 37-page complaint against him being released at that time. Further details emerged last month when it was reported that Mizuhara would plead guilty and agree to a plea deal. Mizuhara allegedly transferred more than $16M from an account of Ohtani’s to the bookmaker, with the complaint containing phone records, text messages and banking records. Mizuhara allegedly phoned the bank and impersonated Ohtani “at least 24 times” as part of his attempts to access the account in question. Ohtani believed his agents and/or accounts were monitoring the account, whereas their repeated attempts to get access to it were thwarted by Mizuhara, who told them that Ohtani wanted it kept private. The complaint also contained a text message wherein Mizuhara admitted to a bookmaker that he stole from Ohtani: “Technically I did steal from him. it’s all over for me.” Investigators found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Ohtani, nor did they find any evidence of Mizuhara betting on baseball.
Mizuhara is facing a maximum sentence of 33 years but could wind up with less than that as part of his plea deal. Meghann Cuniff of The Washington Post looked at the sentencing guidelines on X last month (links one and two), suggesting that Mizuhara’s range would likely be in the range of 78 to 108 months, though also adding on X that the final decision will ultimately lie with the judge. Multiple reports have suggested Mizuhara is likely to be deported to Japan.
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