Shohei Ohtani’s Big-Betting Interpreter Learns His Fate
The former interpreter stole $17 million from Ohtani.
JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s former language interpreter and de facto manager, Ippei Mizuhara, was sentenced Thursday to almost five years in prison for stealing $17 million from his employer. U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb gave Mizuhara a 57-month sentence, and ordered him to pay around $18 million in restitution—$16,975,010 million to Ohtani and $1,149,400 million to the IRS. He will begin serving his prison sentence on March 24. Mizuhara pleaded guilty last year to charges of bank fraud and false tax return filings in which he swindled Ohtani out of $14 million to cover up gambling debts. “I want to say I am truly sorry to Mr. Ohtani for what I have done,” Mizuhara, 40, said in court per ESPN. “The magnitude of the theft, $17 million, in my view, is shockingly high,” Judge Holcomb said while issuing the sentence the outlet added. “I hope that Mr. Mizuhara will be able to repay that sum,” Holcomb continued. “That remains to be seen.”
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