Shohei Ohtan’s interpreter made 19,000 illegal wagers and fell into debt by more than $40 million, feds reveal
Text messages recovered by federal authorities reveal Shohei Ohtani's interpreter was struggling under the weight of his "insatiable appetite" for gambling.
On the gambling books, Ippei Mizuhara was known by the account number “35966.”
Using that handle, Mizuhara made 19,000 illegal wagers with an Orange County bookmaker, averaging 25 bets a day, from $10 to $160,000, indicating the level of his alleged addiction. In one day in October, he made three bets totaling $233,386, authorities said.
Related: Ohtani’s interpreter charged with bank fraud, stealing $16 million from ballplayer
The former translator for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani did his share of winning, to the tune of $142.5 million, in little more than two years. But it wasn’t nearly enough to cover his losses of nearly $183 million.
A federal affidavit filed Thursday, April 11, in the federal bank fraud case against Mizuhara, 39, of Newport Beach, shows in detail what a federal prosecutor described as his “insatiable appetite” for gambling and his despair as he fell more than $40 million into debt. He is accused of stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani’s bank account to pay down his losses, much higher than the $4.5 million embezzlement figure initially reported by the media.
Mizuhara was awash in bad bets.
As he said in a text message to his bookie, believed to be Mathew Bowyer of San Juan Capistrano: “I’m terrible at this sports betting thing, huh? LOL.”
According to the affidavit, Mizuhara in 2018 helped set up Ohtani’s payroll account in Arizona and later linked the account to Mizuhara’s own cellphone. That phone was seized by federal investigators when Mizuhara arrived last month at Los Angeles International Airport from South Korea, where the Dodgers had played the San Diego Padres in two games.
Mizuhara’s involvement with Bowyer turned up in a probe by the IRS, Homeland Security and FBI into illegal gambling in Southern California and the laundering of proceeds through Las Vegas casinos, the affidavit said.
Bowyer, one of the alleged targets of the federal investigation, met Mizuhara in 2021 after a San Diego Padres games, according to a source affiliated with Bowyer. Investigators seized Bowyer’s cellphone, which allegedly contained numerous conversations about illegal bookmaking.
The affidavit quoted one email sent by a casino worker to another would-be gambler, saying Bowyer “takes big action and can give you whatever you need.”
Mizuhara seemed to need a lot, according to the texts recovered from his phone.
Authorities said Mizuhara started off betting small and then built up.
Ultimately, Mizuhara found himself repeatedly asking the bookmaker for more credit — or bumps — and more time to pay it off. At one point, Mizuhara asked his bookie to lower his credit because he had the tendency to get too “reckless,” but then reversed himself, promising on “his mom” to pay his debt, according to the affidavit.
Even after after Mizuhara was down $1 million, the bookmaker extended his credit, the document showed.
“Any chance you can bump me again,” Mizuhara allegedly texted, “As you know, you don’t have to worry about me not paying.”
But the bookmaker did worry and at one point threatened to approach Ohtani because Mizuhara stopped returning his texts.
In early January, the bookie wrote, “You’re putting me in a position where it’s going to get out of control. If I don’t hear from you it’s gonna be out of my hands.”
Mizuhara replied: “I’m really struggling right now, I need some time.”
The affidavit shows that the first unauthorized payment from Ohtani’s account was for $40,010 in November 2021 and grew to denominations of $500,000.
Authorities said Mizuhara sometimes called Ohtani’s bank masquerading as the ballplayer, once saying he needed to send the money for a car loan. The bank, responding to the suspicious call, froze Ohtani’s online transactions. The account was unlocked after Mizuhara called again, identifying himself as Ohtani and offering biographical information, the affidavit said.
Bowyer’s attorney, Diane Bass, declined comment Thursday, as did Mizuhara’s lawyer, Michael Freedman.