Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani, was handed a prison sentence of four years and nine months on Thursday for embezzling nearly $17 million from the Dodgers’ two-way player to cover his illegal gambling debts.
The sentence was given by U.S. District Judge John Holcomb, who also ordered the 40-year-old former interpreter to repay nearly $17 million to Ohtani and $1.1 million to the Internal Revenue Service for evading taxes.
Mizuhara had been a longtime translator and de facto manager, as well as a close friend of Ohtani, who had accompanied him during the two-way player’s stint at the Angels between 2018 to 2023 and the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2023…
