A nearly four-minute audio recording allegedly captured Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara posing as the baseball star on a call with a bank while trying to transfer $200,000 for what he describes as a car loan, federal officials said. prosecutors Thursday.
The recording referenced in a court filing and obtained by the Associated Press is being used to back up prosecutors' bid for a nearly five-year prison sentence for Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank — and tax fraud for stealing nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star.
Prosecutors are also seeking recovery of the nearly $17 million owed to Ohtani, as well as a fine of more than $1 million to the IRS.
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Mizuhara is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 6 after pleading guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return.
His attorney, Michael G. Freedman, did not respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.
In the recording, a man is heard identifying himself as Ohtani and saying he tried to log into online banking but it was unavailable. He later confirms that the transaction amount is $200,000.
When the woman at the bank asks him the reason for the transaction, he says it's for a car loan.
“What is your relationship with the beneficiary?” she asks.
“Um, he's my friend,” the man replies.
The recording was obtained from the bank, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Mitchell. It is unclear when it was made.
Towards the end of the call, the woman from the bank asks, “Will there be any future wires to your friend?”
“Possibly,” the man says.
The recording was first obtained by athletics.
The legal filing says Mizuhara accessed Ohtani's account as of November 2021 and changed his security protocols so he could impersonate to authorize wire transfers. By 2024, Mizuhara had used that money to buy about $325,000 worth of baseball cards from online resellers eBay and whatnot.
Mizuhara pleaded guilty in June to spending millions from Ohtani's bank account in Arizona to cover his growing gambling bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker, as well as medical bills and the $325,000 worth of baseball cards.
Mizuhara was there for many of the Japanese sensation's career highlights: he was Ohtani's catcher in the Home Run Derby at the 2021 All-Star Game and was also present for his two American League MVP wins and record $700 million story , 10-year deal with the Dodgers. Off the field, he became Ohtani's friend and confidant.
Mizuhara famously resigned from the Los Angeles Angels during the 2021 MLB lockout so he could continue talking to Ohtani — he was rehired after a deal was made — and their wives reportedly socialized.
But he gambled it all away, betting tens of millions of dollars that weren't his to bet on international football, the NBA, the NFL and college football – even though prosecutors said he never gambled on baseball.
