Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — Hooboy…. The case of Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter to Shohei Ohtani, just got aired in public for the first time, and even hardened Dodger watchers like myself were floored by the details of just how deep the whole thing went. In all, Mizuhara stands accused of stealing nearly $16 million dollars from the Japanese superstar.
According to reporting in the Athletic and various other sources, Mizuhara stands accused of using the money “largely to finance his voracious appetite for illegal sports gambling,” United States attorney Martin Estrada said during a news conference in Los Angeles. “The bets do not appear to have been made on the sport of baseball,” Estrada told reporters, at least confirming that part of the original story which Mizuhara told Sports Illustrated a couple of weeks ago.
The New York Times further reports that prosecutors laid out the evidence against Mizuhara in an extensive 37-page complaint that revealed a significant amount of details about Mizuhara’s betting habits, his relationship with Ohtani and how Mizuhara had implicated himself. Investigators also checked text logs between Ohtani and Mizuhara and found no evidence of discussion about gambling.“Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case,” Estrada said. “There is no evidence that Mr. Ohtani authorized the transfers to the bookmakers.”
Let me repeat that for all the people in the back: OHTANI IS THE VICTIM IN THIS CASE!!!
The extent of Mizuhara’s gambling addiction is staggering. According to the complaint filed on Thursday in federal court, Ippei made approximately 19,000 wagers between Dec. 2021 and Jan. 2024, which figures out to around 25 bets per day. The wagers ranged from $10 to $160,000, averaging $12,800 per bet. During the two plus years in question, Mizuhara lost $182,935,206.68 while winning $142,256,769.74. That put him at a net loss of $40,678,436.95. It’s not clear at this time what portion of those losses were still outstanding, or exactly how much of Ohtani’s money was used to cover these debts.
So this SHOULD put a quick end to any cloud that would have been hanging over Ohtani in 2024. Whether or not there are other shoes to drop remains to be seen, but for now, Dodger fans, you can take a deep breath and just focus on baseball.
And watch out who you give your password to.
