The proposed prison sentence would also include three years of supervised release, which would likely be moot as Mizuhara would be deported back to Japan. Mizuhara seeks an 18-month term.
The long, sordid, cautionary tale of Ippei Mizuhara reached its likely penultimate step on January 23rd when both the government and Mizuhara’s defense team filed their responses to the presentencing report.
For those that have somehow forgotten what Shohei Ohtani’s former translator, friend, and confidant allegedly did and confessed to, the following video from the U.S. Attorney’s office will provide a brief refresher.
When we last left off this story, Ohtani had just successfully filed a motion to recover approximately $325,000 worth of baseball cards and memorabilia.
In September 2024, the U.S. Probation Office (USPO) prepared a presentencing report that concluded, based on Mizuhara’s lack of criminal history and the amount admittedly stolen, Mizuhara’s sentence should be between 57 and 71 months in prison with five years of supervised release for the bank fraud and one year of supervised release for filing a false tax return. The USPO also recommended that Mizuhara pay a fine ranging from $20,000 to $1,000,000 and a mandatory special assessment of $200.
Once the USPO makes its recommendation, both sides prepare briefs arguing why the judge should impose a sentence or not. On January 23, both the defense and the government filed their briefs to the court.
Dedicated followers of this story might be confused by the USPO’s recommendation, as previous coverage had focused on the maximum exposure that Mizuhara was facing, i.e., in excess of thirty years of prison. Courts rarely hand out the maximum sentence in a case, especially if a defendant pleads and immediately starts cooperating once arrested.
Essentially, sentencing guidelines work like a math problem. One uses the federal sentencing guidelines to find the offense, add any inculpatory factors (were there special circumstances, what was the total loss, etc.), and subtract any mitigation factors (did the defendant accept responsibility, has the defendant been a prior offender, etc.)
All that math leads to a number, which can be used with the federal sentencing chart to determine what the sentence should likely be. The law firm of Silverman and Thompson out of Maryland has already done the math for us and wrote an excellent primer last April on the subject if you want to check it out. Almost a year ago, the firm had the approximate recommendation of years down to the button.
The government acknowledges that Mizuhara accepted responsibility earlier than most defendants. It seeks a sentence of 57 months, three years of supervised release, $16,975,010 in restitution to Ohtani, $1,149,400 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, and a special assessment of $200. For those wondering, the special assessment is a fine by statute of $100 levied twice because Mizuhara is pleading guilty to two felonies.
The government acknowledges that Mizuhara cannot afford to pay the restitution to either the IRS or Ohtani.
A recording of Mizuhara, posing as Ohtani, making a phone call to Ohtani’s bank in one of the most inept pieces of fraud ever recorded was made public. We provide a link to the audio so that you can see the alleged criminal mastermind at work.
If anyone still somehow believed that Ohtani was involved based on listening to the audio, that person is beyond this (or any) website’s ability to help. To say that a $200,000 wire transfer is for a “car loan” is head-slappingly stupid.
I have seen worse in my career, but it was in the realm of fiction.
Mizuhara’s team asked for leniency, citing a gambling addiction dating back to his teenage years and an 18-month sentence. While Mizuhara’s annual salary in MLB grew from $85,000 to $250,000 in 2022 and $500,000 before the Dodgers sacked him, Mizuhara stated that Ohtani paid him a smaller, separate salary with a Porsche Cayenne.
Mizuhara argued that he was struggling to make ends meet with having to pay for international travel for his wife and the high costs of living by being near Ohtani. Mizuhara’s team argued that he was living paycheck to paycheck while the theft was going on.
Naomi Mizuhara, Mizahura’s wife, also helped support him by cooking, watching his dog, and helping him with his nails when he pitched. Ms. Mizuhara asked for leniency because Mizuhara was her only remaining family member after the death of her parents and other family members.
Mizuhara stated that neither he nor his wife could work and that the notoriety of the case forced him to seek financial assistance from his parents. Per The Athletic:
“This has not been pleasant at all,” Mizuhara is quoted as having told a forensic psychologist. “My mother had to stop working at her job as a nurse because she works with many Asians. My wife and I have been followed and harassed, and we have to be careful about going out in public. I realize this is all because of what I did, and I accept this, but it has not been easy. I must admit, I never thought about the shame that would come to my family if I failed to win back the money and got caught.”
In its brief, the government anticipated that Mizuhara would use his gambling addiction as a mitigating factor:
Ultimately, the government submits, the motivating factor behind defendant’s crimes was not a gambling addiction but rather greed. Defendant betrayed Mr. Ohtani’s trust, causing him financial, reputational, and emotional harm. Let there be no doubt, Mr. Ohtani is truly a victim and has suffered, and will continue to suffer, harm from defendant’s conduct. This kind of betrayal and greed calls for a significant term of imprisonment within the sentencing Guidelines range.
Judge John W. Holcomb of the Central District of California will pass sentence on Mizuhara on February 6.
Mizuhara, a non-U.S. Citizen, has pled to what will be considered an aggravated felony in immigration law. Therefore, it is a virtual certainty that he will be deported back to Japan at the completion of his prison sentence.
For what it is worth, Mizuhara apologized again to Ohtani in his pleading:
“Lastly, I truly admire Shohei as a baseball player and a human being and I was committed to devote my life so Shohei can be the best version of himself on the field,” Mizuhara wrote. “I want to say I am truly sorry for violating his trust in me.”
In two weeks’ time, Dodger fans can finally start to forget the name of Ippei Mizuhara as anything other than a cautionary tale of having the wrong person be in the wrong place at the wrong time.