Feds: No evidence of Mizuhara gambling addiction

Federal prosecutors disputed claims by Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter that he stole from the slugger to pay back massive gambling debts, saying there was no evidence he suffered from a gambling addiction before he started draining the Los Angeles Dodgers star's bank account, according to court documents filed Thursday.

Ippei Mizuhara is due to be sentenced Feb. 6 after his June guilty plea. Last week, he asked U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb for an 18-month sentence, instead of the nearly five years prosecutors seek. Mizuhara said he was remorseful and blamed the crime on what he called a "long-standing" addition to gambling in which he "frequented casinos four to five times a week."

But in their new response, prosecutors doubled down on their sentencing recommendation and said their research showed there is no evidence of a long-standing addiction other than Mizuhara's "self-serving and uncorroborated statements to the psychologist he hired for the purposes of sentencing."

"All defendants claim to be remorseful at the time of sentencing," prosecutors wrote. "The question courts must answer is whether the defendant is truly remorseful or whether they are just sorry they were caught."

Mizuhara's attorney, Michael Freedman, declined to comment Thursday.

Prosecutors said the government's investigation found "only minimal evidence" of Mizuhara's past legal gambling, stating that investigators had looked at more than 30 casinos across the country and that "the only evidence found was defendant spending $200 at the Mirage casino during a weekend in 2008."

Prosecutors attached a document containing a color photocopy of Mizuhara's California driver's license, along with spreadsheet images showing bets he placed at the Mirage.

Mizuhara registered for FanDuel in 2018, but never placed a bet on it, according to prosecutors. He began betting with DraftKings in 2023 after he "had already stolen millions of dollars from Mr. Ohtani," the filing states.

Other exhibits showed Mizuhara placing bets ranging from $5 to $1,400 on NBA, NHL, soccer and college baseball games.

Prosecutors contend Mizuhara did not accumulate a "tremendous debt" that forced him to steal from Ohtani, as Mizuhara has claimed. At the time of the first fraudulent wire transfer from Ohtani's bank account, for "a modest $40,000" in September 2021, Mizuhara had more than $34,000 in his checking account, prosecutors said.

"[Mizuhara] could have used his own money to pay the bookie but instead chose to steal from Mr. Ohtani," prosecutors wrote.

They allege Mizuhara deposited money he received from his winnings from the bookie and DraftKings into his personal account and "had no intention of repaying Mr. Ohtani."

In his filing to Holcomb, Mizuhara claimed that he "had to rent a place" near Ohtani and "paid hefty rent" where he ultimately settled in Newport Beach, California, while simultaneously paying rent for an apartment in Japan. He also stated in his filing that he was "living paycheck to paycheck."

"But this is also not true," prosecutors wrote in their filing, submitting bank statements as evidence showing "he was using Mr. Ohtani's debit card to pay his rent" without Ohtani's "knowledge or authorization."

"He had no expenses," the prosecutors continued. "He had no loans, car payments, or rent expenses," noting Ohtani gave Mizuhara a Porsche to drive.

Mizuhara always had a "significant balance" in his checking account, prosecutors state, noting it was more than $30,000 in March 2023 and more than $195,000 in March 2024, when inquiries from ESPN led to his firing from the Dodgers and to Ohtani's attorneys calling the wire transfers a "massive theft."

Prosecutors also said Mizuhara turned down book and commercial deals in spite of Ohtani encouraging him "to accept the deals." Mizuhara "did in fact write at least one book" -- an illustrated children's book about Ohtani, according to an exhibit.

Prosecutors concluded their filing by stating "a significant period of incarceration is necessary," and reiterated their request for a sentence of 57 months in prison, three years supervised release, more than $16 million in restitution to Ohtani and $1.1 million to the IRS.

"There is no doubt" Mizuhara "feels ashamed from the international attention he received from his fraud schemes and web of lies," the prosecutors wrote. "But instead of showing true remorse," they allege, Mizuhara is trying to "justify stealing millions from Mr. Ohtani."