Ippei Mizuhara agreed to plead guilty in illegal sports betting case
Date: 2024-05-09 Author: Alex Crawford Categories: EVENTS, PEOPLE
Shohei Ohtani's former translator, Ippei Mizuhara, agreed Wednesday to plead guilty to two federal charges related to the theft of nearly $17 million in funds from the Japanese baseball star.
Transaction details
Mizuhara has agreed to plead guilty to both charges at an upcoming hearing, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office. It is believed that this decision may affect his subsequent sentence.
The announcement of the plea deal came two hours before the sentencing hearing for Scott Cibella, a former Resorts World and MGM Grand hotel executive who also pleaded guilty in another federal investigation.
Possible penalties
Mizuhara faces up to 33 years in prison and a fine of up to $1.25 million. However, the plea agreement mentions the possibility of a reduced sentence by prosecutors.
Regardless of the verdict, Mizuhara is required to pay nearly $17 million in restitution to Otani for the stolen funds.
Details Revealed
The investigation found that Mizuhara used the stolen funds not only to pay off debts, but also for other purposes, such as paying for medical services and purchasing collectible sports cards for resale.
Prosecutors call Mizuhara's fraud scheme "massive" and accuse him of using a trusted position to bolster gambling bets and defraud authorities.
Uncovering an illegal betting network
Mizuhara's illegal sports betting scheme was discovered during an investigation into Matthew Boyer's involvement with a larger illegal sports betting ring led by Wayne Nix.
Mizuhara pleaded guilty in an oversight investigation that uncovered multimillion-dollar fraud and the use of stolen funds for illegal sports betting, threatening the Japanese baseball star's career and reputation.
