Mizuhara Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Defrauding Ohtani

U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb sentenced former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who stole nearly $17 million from Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani to pay for gambling debts, to 57 months in prison on Thursday, according to reports from multiple news outlets.

Mizuhara faced a maximum sentence of 33 years in prison for bank fraud and filing a false tax return. The 40-year-old wasn’t at risk of facing the maximum sentence given that he pleaded guilty and lacks a criminal record. Those are two mitigating factors that often lead to the imposition of a sentence much lower than the maximum.

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But Mizuhara was all but certain to receive some time behind bars. Holcomb, who presides at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Santa Ana, Calif., was recently presented with three recommendations for Mizuhara’s sentence.

Holcomb’s sentence matches the U.S. Justice Department’s request of 57 months (4.75 years) in prison. Mizuhara will also have three years of supervised release and be require to pay nearly $17 in restitution to Ohtani, according to The Athletic.

Federal prosecutors maintained that Mizuhara repeatedly stole from Ohtani over a multiyear period, and thus his misconduct was not a one-time offense or a momentary lapse in judgment. Prosecutors also portrayed Mizuhara as acting with bad intentions, arguing he intentionally manipulated Ohtani’s bank and other records to further his fraud, which led the public and baseball fans to wrongly suspect Ohtani of involvement in his scheme—a scheme that in baseball can lead to a lifetime ban. Mindful that Mizuhara has attempted to mitigate his actions by claiming a gambling addiction, prosecutors also pointed out that Mizuhara illegally used Ohtani’s credit card to pay for numerous items that had nothing to do with gambling, and that even when Mizuhara won a bet, he didn’t repay Ohtani.

The middle sentencing recommendation was offered by the U.S. Probation Office, which conducts pre-sentencing investigations of a person charged with a crime. The agency urged that Mizuhara be sentenced to four years in prison. It stressed that although Mizuhara accepted responsibility and had no criminal record, the amount of money he stole was high and stealing from a bank warrants a higher penalty.

Mizuhara’s attorney, Michael G. Freedman, offered a very different take. He urged Holcomb to impose an 18-month sentence.

Freedman described Mizuhara as something of a tragic figure, noting that he suffered from depression that may have begun when he lost his first-love relationship in high school and that his gambling addiction is so severe he has a dependence on betting. Freedman also underscored how Mizuhara tried to limit the public relations fallout for Ohtani by declining to comment on the matter until after the government filed its complaint. In addition, Freedman stressed that Mizuhara, who was born in Japan but raised in Los Angeles and is a permanent U.S. resident, faces likely deportation to Japan after he leaves a U.S. prison due to his criminal record. Freedman warned Mizuhara will face greater shame in Japan and be unemployable.

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