According to local media reports, including the U.S. LA Times, on the 9th (Korea time), the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Mizuhara, who was indicted in federal district court on charges of bank fraud, has admitted the charges and established a judicial deal with the prosecution. Mizuhara is expected to officially plead guilty in court on the 15th.
Mizuhara also pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns in addition to bank fraud in which he transferred $1,697,5010 from Ohtani’s account to pay off his illegal sports gambling debt, according to a sentencing agreement released by the Justice Department.
When Otani entered the Major League in 2018, he hired Mizuhara, whom he had known since the Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Japanese pro baseball, as an interpreter. He was not just an interpreter but a manager who was in charge of living outside the ballpark, and after coming to the U.S., he helped Otani open a bank account. He had a long relationship with Otani and naturally accessed his account.
Mizuhara’s fraudulent methods were meticulous. She changed her contact information, including phone numbers and emails, from Ohtani’s bank account, and took various measures to trick him. She impersonated Ohtani and made authentication calls to the bank 24 times.
In addition, there was 4.1 million dollars of missing income. The bank fraud is 30 years in prison and the false tax filing is 3 years in prison. The maximum sentence is 33 years in prison and the fine is 1.25 million dollars, but the prosecution is likely to recommend a reduction in the sentence due to the latest judicial transaction.
Instead, Mizuhara has to fully compensate Ohtani for his damages of 16,975,010 dollars and pay an additional 1,149,400 dollars in taxes due to filing of false tax returns. Chances are high that he will be deported from the U.S.
This is not the only time Mizuhara hit Ohtani in the back of his head. In September last year, he received a check from Ohtani for 60,000 U.S. dollars for dental treatment, but pocketed the money and used his debit card to pay for dental treatment. He was found to have stolen 325,000 dollars and even purchased a baseball card for resale between January and March this year. It is more shameless than expected.
Federal prosecutor Martin Estrada said, “The scale of Mizuhara’s fraud and theft is enormous. He used his trusted position to approach and exploit Ohtani, and he continued his dangerous gambling habit. We will try to punish those who commit misdeeds without fail.”
The Justice Ministry’s announcement was made during a game between the Dodgers and the Miami Marlins. “There is nothing I can say. I hope this will go well and everyone can move forward,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. Perhaps this is why the Dodgers’ clubhouse was delayed in opening to the media after the game, and no comment was made on Mizuhara because Ohtani had already left work.
In mid-March, Ohtani was also embroiled in a scandal when Mizuhara’s alleged illegal sports gambling and theft were revealed during the MLB World Tour Seoul Series. Mizuhara was immediately fired, and Ohtani was also likely involved in illegal gambling, but the investigation revealed that he was a victim.
Mizuhara was confirmed to have siphoned a large sum of nearly $17 million from Ohtani’s account between November 2021 and March this year to pay off more than $40 million in illegal sports gambling debt.토토