Ohtani & Ippei: Peanut Butter & Jelly

While Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara's professional relationship began in late 2017 when Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels, the two had first met back in 2013 in Japan while Ohtani was playing for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters at the age of 18. Once in Los Angeles, Ippei became Ohtani’s official translator, but the two quickly developed a deep bond, expanding beyond professional confines into a friendship.

It is important to note that when Ohtani moved to the United States, he was incredibly unfamiliar with everything and did not know any English. Ippei's knowledge of English and familiarity with the United States were crucial in helping Ohtani navigate his new environment. Just to help further paint the picture, Shohei Ohtani was in a new country, playing a sport he is extraordinary at, but is unable to directly communicate with anyone on his team, players, coaches, and everyone except Ippei Mizuhara. Baseball is a 162-game season, including spring training, playoffs, etc., and occupies about 225+ days of the year. For all those 225+ days, beyond receiving every word of communication from others through the mouth of Mizuhara, he was also the only person Ohtani could truly talk to. Ippei quickly became more than just a translator; he became a confidant, a friend, a part of Ohtani's daily life, and ultimately his manager. It makes sense how the pair would develop a deep bond and Ippei gave Ohatini no reason not to trust him. Joe Maddon, manager of the angels soon referred to the pair as “peanut butter and jelly”, symbiotic partners, his guide through a world he did not know.

Ippei’s Shady Past: The Façade Begins

Ippei Mizuhara's credibility has been significantly undermined by revelations about his fabricated educational and professional background. In his biography with the Los Angeles Angels, Mizuhara claimed to have graduated from the University of California-Riverside in 2007. However, this assertion was directly refuted by the university officials. According to a report initially made by NBC Los Angeles and later confirmed by The Athletic, the university stated unequivocally, “Our university records do not show a student by the name of Ippei Mizuhara having attended UC Riverside.” The school also confirmed there was no record of Mizuhara attending under any similar or alternate name, eliminating any ambiguity about his academic claims.

Further down the rabbit hole of background checking Mizuhara's history, there were also discrepancies in his professional life, particularly surrounding Hideki Okajima. Ippei Mizuhara’s profile stated that he served as the interpreter for former MLB pitcher Okajima, specifically during Okajima's tenure with the Boston Red Sox. However, much like UC Riverside, there was no record of this. The Red Sox made a public statement “Mizuhara was never employed by the Boston Red Sox in any capacity and was not an interpreter for Hideki Okajima during the pitcher’s time with the team.” This statement should confirm other doubts about falsehoods in Mizuhara’s self-reported history. The unraveling of lies, and light shedding Mizuhara's reputational reliability, is crucial to understanding the kind of person he is and the underlying details of the scandal

The Roots of the Scandal:

Although substantial evidence has already established Ippei Mizuhara as untrustworthy, investigations conducted by the DOJ, IRS, and Homeland Security have further substantiated, details, and proved the extent of his misconduct. Specifically, they have uncovered phone recordings, bank records, additional text messages, and more that further implicate Mizuhara and can accurately depict how Ohtani has been taken advantage of and is the victim of a deeply complicated fraud.

According to the agency’s investigation, communicated by U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. In 2018 “Mizuhara Helped Ohtani set up a bank account, Mr. Mizuhara had access to that bank account and he refused to give access to Ohtani other professional advisors including his agent, his accountant, and his financial advisor, Mizuhara told [his agents, accountant, and financial advisor] that Ohtani wanted to keep that account private” The early control Mizuhara held over the bank account was initially a sign of the deep trust Shohei Ohtani placed in him. However, his refusal to grant access to the remaining members of Ohtani’s management team, and isolation of Ohtani from that team, marked the first recorded instance of Mizuhara exploiting that trust. It is important to keep in mind, that every word Ohtani spoke or received from anyone was relayed through the mouth of Ippei Mizuhara, highlighting the profound level of trust and reliance placed on him.

In 2021, Mizuhara began putting that exploitation of trust into action, engaging in high-stakes illegal sports betting. What started as occasional gambling escalated into a serious problem both for Mizuhara and later Ohtani. Mizuhara found himself under a mountain of debt, up to 40 Million dollars worth. The DOJ, Estrada, continued “Mizuhara began placing sports bets with bookies linked to illegal gambling sites.” To restore some of that debt, he ultimately stole upwards of 16 Million dollars from Shohei Ohtani via bank fraud.

The Bookie: Bowyer

The investigation into Ippei Mizuhara's gambling activities came to light following a federal raid on Mathew Bowyer's home in San Juan Capistrano, where authorities were investigating a significant gambling operation. Bowyer, previously barred from several Las Vegas casinos and a known high-stakes gambler as cited in his divorce proceedings, had become a known figure in California's illegal bookmaking scene, establishing Picks Enterprises, LLC in 2019. Amidst the establishment of Picks Enterprises, Bowyer was subject to further investigation from the Federal Trade Commission, a real estate project “Sanctuary Belize”, in what the FTC later dubbed 'the largest overseas real estate investment scam.' ever targeted by the agency. He also had several failed business and bankruptcy filings involving substantial debts, the shady Matthew Bowyer was the perfect match for Ippe Mizuhara. By 2021, they had formed a connection and Mizuhara went on to place 19,000 bets in just over two years, leading to over 40 million dollars of debt within Bowyer's ring. And according to US Attorney Martin Estrada “At the same time he started placing the bets with bookmakers, Mr. Mizuhara began using Mr. Ohtani’s bank account to make payments for the account.”

The investigation further revealed text messages between the pair that show the full stages of his addiction and his progressively expedited loss of money, ultimately spiraling out of control. His early messages were lighthearted: "I’ve just been messing around with soccer, there’s games on 24/7 lol," and "I took UCLA but they lost outright!!!" They soon gave way to urgent pleas for financial rescue. He consistently sought "bumps" to extend his credit, evidencing his deepening crisis with texts such as, “Can u bump me last 200? I swear on my mom this will be the last ask before I pay it off once I get back to the States. Sorry for keep on asking. . . .” His pattern of requesting and receiving these credit lines increases, despite acknowledging, “I’m terrible at this sport betting thing huh?” underscores the severity of the problem.

Fraud: The Sam Bankman-Fried of Translators

Continuing with the DOJ investigation, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said: “we obtained recordings of telephone calls in which Mizuhara spoke with bank employees, lied to them about being Mr. Ohtani, gave personal biographical information [bank security questions] for Mr. Ohtani in order to impersonate him, and thereby convinced the bank to approve large wire transfers of large amounts of money to the bookmakers.” He continued, “Mr. Mizuhara had helped set up the [bank] account so he's familiar with it, and he used that familiarity to access the account.” These recordings are pivotal, as they directly implicate Mizuhara in acts of deception that Ohtani was unaware of, and "There would have been no reason for Mr. Mizuhara to impersonate Mr. Ohtani in calls with the bank if these transfers had been authorized." The detailed impersonation indicates a premeditated effort to misuse Ohtani's identity and financial resources without his consent for further illicit activities.

The investigation further revealed phone and bank records that show Mizuhara had “accessed Mr. Ohtani's bank account online" via username and passwords used to sign in on mobile apps and online websites. Additionally, according to the New York Times, one of the most insidious and sneaky actions taken by Mizuhara was altering the notification settings on Ohtani’s phone to prevent him from being notified of the transactions in real-time, ensuring that the transactions could continue undetected for as long as possible. These are clear-cut examples of bank fraud along with identity theft.

Ohtani: The Victim

Skeptics have claimed that Shohei was involved in the scandal and that this is a much deeper conspiracy that travels into betting and potentially rigging of baseball. Despite these allegations, U.S. Attorney General Martin Estrada's statements from the DOJ, IRS, & Homeland Security investigations, provide clear evidence of Ohtani's proactive engagement and innocence in the face of these accusations. Estrada continued, “Mr. Ohtani has cooperated fully and completely in this investigation. He's not only spoken to investigators, he's provided access to his digital devices, to his personal information, to ensure that justice was done in this case…There is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Ohtani authorized the over $16 million of transfers from his account to the bookmakers. Mr. Ohtani has stated that he did not authorize these transfers, that he did not grant Mizuhara access to use his account.” He continues, “We've reviewed both Mizuhara's and Mr. Ohtani's phones and their communications over time, over several years, thousands of communications reviewed by a Japanese linguist. And that review has demonstrated no discussion of betting, wagers, or authorization for transfers to bookmakers. Furthermore, there would have been no reason for Mr. Mizuhara to impersonate Mr. Ohtani in calls with the bank if these transfers had been authorized.” Furthermore, this exhaustive review stated none of the 19,000+ bets “have been made on the sport of baseball.”

In early March as the rumblings of the scandal began, Ippei reached out to Bowyer asking if he had heard the news, the bookie responded “that’s all bullshit. Obviously you didn’t steal from him. I understand it’s a cover job. I totally get it.” Not immediately, but days later, this culminated as Mizuhara became aware that his deceptive actions could no longer be hidden, following intense scrutiny from federal investigations and increased media exposure, Mizuhara admitted to his bookie via text, “Technically I did steal from him. it’s all over for me.” While not legally an admission of guilt, this confession was still meaningful, acknowledging the betrayal of Ohtani’s trust after months of deception and financial manipulation, even though it does not stand in court.

Concluding Thoughts:

The investigation into Ippei Mizuhara's illicit activities has starkly highlighted his culpability and put a glaring contrast to Shohei Ohtani's involvement, or rather, his lack thereof. Through exhaustive analysis of phone records, bank statements, text messages, and digital footprints, the evidence has decisively implicated Mizuhara while categorically clearing any suspicions surrounding Ohtani's involvement in the gambling activities. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada succinctly says “Due to the position of trust, he had unique access to his finances and he used and abused that place of trust to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani” and the investigation has concluded with “Charges [of Ippei Mizuhara] with bank fraud for allegedly stealing 16 million dollars from Shohei Ohtani.” Beyond the financial losses and the profound betrayal, Ohtani has also lost his closest confidant, the only person he has communicated with directly for the past five and a half years, and his best friend. While the findings from various authoritative sources seem comprehensive, it is worth acknowledging that in such complex cases, not all variables are always fully visible to the public. While there remains a slim possibility that Ohtani might have had some awareness, the overwhelming evidence supported by the investigation strongly argues otherwise, painting him as the victim in this deceptive scheme.

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Sources:

DOJ:Press Conference

https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/shohei-ohtani-interpreter-charges-gambling-scandal/story?id=109137484

NEW YORK TIMES:

The New York Times. (2024, April 10). Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter makes plea in gambling scandal. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/10/business/shohei-ohtani-ippei-mizuhara-plea.html

CNBC:
CNBC. (2024, April 11). Ohtani’s translator accused of stealing $16 million from Dodgers star. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/11/ohtani-translator-accused-of-stealing-16-million-from-dodgers-star.html

YAHOO: News

Yahoo News. (2024). Just business: Shohei Ohtani jokingly brushes off interpreter scandal. Retrieved from https://news.yahoo.com/just-business-shohei-ohtani-jokingly-221106828.html

JAPAN TIMES:

Japan Times. (2024, April 12). Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter involved in text scandal with bookie. Retrieved from https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2024/04/12/baseball/mlb/Ippei-mizuhara-bookie-texts/

NBC NEWS:

NBC News. (2024). Everything you need to know about Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/shohei-ohtani-interpreter-ippei-mizuhara-everything-know-rcna144445

CBS SPORTS:

CBS Sports. (2024). Who is Ippei Mizuhara? Shohei Ohtani’s fired interpreter accused of massive theft in gambling scandal. Retrieved from https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/who-is-ippei-mizuhara-shohei-ohtanis-fired-interpreter-accused-of-massive-theft-in-gambling-scandal/

THE SPORTING NEWS:

The Sporting News. (2024). Who is Mathew Bowyer? Bookmaker at center of Shohei Ohtani, Ippei Mizuhara scandal. Retrieved from https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/who-mathew-bowyer-bookmaker-center-shohei-ohtani-ippei-mizuhara/1451601c6803107cf3aea2c0

MARCA:

Marca. (2024, March 26). Los Angeles Dodgers' scandal details emerge. Retrieved from https://www.marca.com/en/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/2024/03/26/66021417268e3e4b088b4599.html

The Athletic:

The Athletic. (2024, April 12). Ippei Mizuhara surrenders amid MLB scandal. Retrieved from https://theathletic.com/5411537/2024/04/12/ippei-mizuhara-surrenders-mlb-ohtani/

Additional Sources:

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.

IRS Special Agent, Tyler Hatcher

Special Agent In Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, Eddie Wang