On the same day that Shohei Ohtani made his Los Angeles Dodgers pitching debut last week, his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, began serving his sentence for bank and tax fraud at Federal Correctional Institution Allenwood Low in Pennsylvania.
Mizuhara was initially due to surrender on March 24, but a judge granted him an extension. He received a new surrender date of May 12, but that too was pushed back for undisclosed reasons.
Mizuhara will spend 57 months in prison and is also ordered to pay restitution to Ohtani. Mizuhara admitted to stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani in order to pay off gambling debts incurred while participating in illegal sports betting with a Southern California bookmaker.
At the conclusion of his sentence, the expectation is that Mizuhara will be deported to Japan, via Sam Blum of The Athletic:
Both Freedman and prosecutors believe that Mizuhara will be deported to Japan following his prison term.
Mizuhara grew up in the United States as a legal permanent resident, but is a citizen of Japan.
Mizuhara was a close friend of Ohtani and had served as his interpreter since the two-way star made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018.
When the Dodgers signed Ohtani after the 2023 season, it was a given that Mizuhara would be joining the organization as well. The Dodgers quickly fired Mizuhara during the Seoul Series after learning of his involvement in the illegal sports gambling scandal.
A federal investigation cleared Ohtani of any wrongdoing and he quickly put the incident behind him.
“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,” the league said in a statement at the time.
Ippei Mizuhara sentencing gave Ohtani closure
When Ohtani was officially cleared by MLB, he expressed gratitude to those involved in the investigation for helping him find closure.
“Now that the investigation has been completed, this full admission of guilt has brought important closure to me and my family,” Ohtani said in a statement at the time.
“I want to sincerely thank the authorities for finishing their thorough and effective investigation so quickly and uncovering all of the evidence.
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