LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s fired translator Ippei Mizuhara turns himself into law enforcement and prepares for court appearance after feds accuse him of stealing $16 million from MLB hero

Fired Shohei Ohtani translator Ippei Mizuhara has surrendered to law enforcement and is now in federal custody.

Mizuhara is scheduled to appear in a Los Angeles court at 1 p.m. local time on Friday. He is expected to be released at some point.

Federal authorities on Thursday charged the former longtime interpreter for the Los Angeles Dodgers star with federal bank fraud, alleging he stole more than $16 million from the Japanese sensation to cover bets and debts.

Mizuhara, a constant presence next to Ohtani at baseball stadiums across the country since 2018, abused the two-way player’s trust in him and took advantage of the language barrier to raid a bank account that only he could access, prosecutors said.

US Attorney Martin Estrada said Mizuhara was so intertwined in Ohtani’s life and career that he became the star’s ‘de facto manager’. The role allowed him to withdraw money from the account – at times lying and impersonating Ohtani to bank employees – to fund his ‘insatiable appetite for illegal sports betting’.

Thursday’s announcement, at a packed news conference in downtown Los Angeles, ended weeks of speculation about Mizuhara’s self-admitted gambling problems, the wide-ranging federal investigation and Ohtani’s role in the scandal.

Estrada said there is no evidence Ohtani was aware of his interpreter’s actions, adding that Ohtani has been cooperating with investigators.

“I want to emphasize this point: Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case,” he said.

The criminal complaint — which details the scheme through text messages, financial records and phone call recordings — showed that even Mizuhara knew the game was up. In a message to his illegal bookie on March 20, the day the Los Angeles Times and ESPN broke news of the investigation, he wrote: ‘Technically I stole from him. it’s all over for me.’

Mizuhara faces up to 30 years in federal prison if convicted of one count of bank fraud. His attorney, Michael G. Freedman, declined to comment Thursday. Mizuhara’s first appearance in federal court is likely to take place this week.

Ohtani’s translator Ippei Mizuhara (left) is expected to be charged with theft from Ohtani

The scale of the theft shocked the sports community, but also further cleared Ohtani of wrongdoing in baseball’s biggest gambling scandal since Pete Rose was banned for life. Major League Baseball opened its own investigation after the controversy surfaced last month, and the Dodgers immediately fired Mizuhara.

“Given the information disclosed (Thursday) and other information we have already gathered, we will wait until the criminal proceedings are concluded to determine whether further investigation is warranted,” MLB said in a statement.

MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from betting – even legally – on baseball. MLB also prohibits betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.

Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels in December to sign a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. Ohtani and Mizuhara had been daily companions since Ohtani joined the Angels in 2018. Ohtani’s baseball salary before the Dodgers deal totaled about $40 million, though he is also expected to earn tens of millions at least in endorsements each year.

Shohei Ohtani is set to be officially cleared of any wrongdoing in his gambling investigation

Federal investigators say Mizuhara made about 19,000 bets between December 2021 and January 2024 — an average of nearly 25 bets a day. The stakes ranged from about $10 to $160,000 per effort, averaging about $12,800. Estrada said investigators found no evidence that Mizuhara had played baseball.

While Mizuhara’s winning bets totaled over $142 million, which he deposited into his own bank account and not Ohtani’s, his losing bets were about $183 million — a net loss of nearly $41 million.

At one point, the bookie could not reach Mizuhara and threatened to approach Ohtani, identified as Victim A in the criminal complaint.

‘Hey Ippie, it’s 2 o’clock on Friday. I don’t know why you don’t call back. I’m here in Newport Beach and I see (victim A) walking his dog,” the bookie wrote to Mizuhara on Nov. 17, 2023. “I’m just going to go up and talk to him and ask how I can get in. touch you when you don’t answer? Please call back immediately.’

The alleged fraud also spanned the lucrative memorabilia market. Investigators seized about 1,000 collectible baseball cards, including those for such players as Yogi Berra, and discovered approximately $325,000 in transactions to online retailers from January to March. Authorities believe Mizuhara bought the cards from the websites with the intention of reselling them later.

There are suggestions that Mizuhara stole more than the initially reported $4.5 million from Ohtani — who he also worked with at the Angels — to cover illegal gambling debts

Conflicting reports engulfed the beginning of the baseball season last month, prompting a swift move to file the charges.

“We understood that there was a significant amount of public interest in this case,” Estrada said.

Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani paid his gambling debt at the interpreter’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, NBA, NFL and college football.

But ESPN said Mizuhara changed his story the next day, saying Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookies.

Ohtani said he first became aware of Mizuhara’s playing problem during a team meeting following the Dodgers’ March 20 victory over the San Diego Padres in Seoul during MLB’s first game in South Korea. The LA Times and ESPN published their stories hours later.

Ohtani pitched for the Dodgers earlier Wednesday in their 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins

Five days later, Ohtani told a press conference at Dodger Stadium that he never bet on sports or knowingly paid off any gambling debts accumulated by his interpreter. He placed the blame squarely on Mizuhara and refuted the interpreter’s inconsistent accounts of whether Ohtani had paid off Mizuhara’s gambling debt.

“I am very saddened and shocked that someone I trusted has done this,” the Japanese star said through a new interpreter.

“Ippei has stolen money from my account and told lies,” Ohtani said. ‘I have never bet on sports or intentionally sent money to the bookmaker.’

According to the criminal complaint, the Mizuhara case stemmed from a broader investigation into illegal sportsbookmaking organizations operating in Southern California and the laundering of proceeds through Las Vegas casinos.

“To date, these investigations have resulted in criminal charges and/or convictions of 12 criminal defendants and one money services company, as well as non-prosecution agreements with two Las Vegas casinos,” the complaint said. ‘The investigations are still ongoing and have several targets, not all of which are related to each other.’