Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani, was handed a prison sentence of four years and nine months on Thursday for embezzling nearly $17 million from the Dodgers’ two-way player to cover his illegal gambling debts.
The sentence was given by U.S. District Judge John Holcomb, who also ordered the 40-year-old former interpreter to repay nearly $17 million to Ohtani and $1.1 million to the Internal Revenue Service for evading taxes.
Mizuhara had been a longtime translator and de facto manager, as well as a close friend of Ohtani, who had accompanied him during the two-way player’s stint at the Angels between 2018 to 2023 and the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2023 until he was fired in March of last year.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.