Ohtani's Ex-Interpreter Sentenced to over 4 Years in Prison

   Santa Ana, California, Feb. 6 (Jiji Press)--A federal district court in California on Thursday sentenced Ippei Mizuhara, a former interpreter for the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, to four years and nine months in prison, marking a major milestone in a high-profile illegal money transfer case embroiling the Major League Baseball superstar.
   Mizuhara, 40, was also ordered to repay Ohtani.
   According to the indictment, Mizuhara transferred around 17 million dollars from Ohtani's bank account without his permission between November 2021 and March 2024 to pay his debts from illegal gambling. He also failed to report 4.1 million dollars of his illegal earnings in his 2022 tax return. Prosecutors charged him with bank and tax fraud.
   The Dodgers fired Mizuhara in March 2024 following the revelation of the scandal. Federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against him in April that year. In the following month, the defense struck a plea deal with prosecutors in which Mizuhara agreed to plead guilty early in exchange for a sentence of four years and nine months in prison, substantially reduced from the possible maximum sentence of 33 years.
   Last month, the Mizuhara side sought a further reduction in his sentence, claiming that he has already been punished with his reputation and career being lost. The defense and prosecutors agreed not to appeal if the sentence is set within a range from four years and nine months to five years and 11 months.

(2025/02/07-09:59)

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