Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Dodgers Shohei Ohtani Ex-Interpreter Misses Court Sentence Date

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By TJ French | Last updated Mar 25, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani's ex-interpreter, Ippei Mizzuhara, will not begin his prison sentence this week, as the longtime interpreter was supposed to agree to surrender on Monday, March 24.

Mizzuhara is set to spend five years in prison for tax and bank fraud. He was convicted of stealing nearly $17 million from the 2024 MVP Ohtani to pay off illegal sports betting bookkeepers.

The news that he was stealing from his longtime friend and employer, Mr. Ohtani, came out close to a year ago, and after much confusion regarding the case and who could potentially be at fault, it was found by a grand jury that Mizzuhara was guilty.

Mizzuhara has since apologized to the Dodgers community, Ohtani and his family, and his own family. It is sealed by the Department of Justice, the official date of Mizzuhara's next surrender date, but it will likely be in the news again once it is either revealed or Ippei is officially detained.

The longtime interpreter from Japan made his way into MLB by way of Ohtani, being by his side since the most popular man in baseball started with the Los Angeles Angels.

One of the weirdest stories surrounding a name like Ohtani in the last sports calendar year, and it's still unclear if the thefts by Ippie were because of Ohtani's neglect in financial management, or Mizzuhara's intelligence.

Ohtani has said many times on the record that he was shocked and "appalled" once the news originally broke.

Now, there is no doubt that Ippei was guilty, just a matter of time until he does real-time in the "clink".

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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