Shohei Ohtani, the famous Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player, was recently swindled by his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Mizuhara stole over $16 million from the two time MVP over the course of 3 years. He is being charged with Bank Fraud.
Mizuhara began sports betting in 2021 and quickly began losing money to the sum of $40 million dollars. His betting history was extensive with over 19,000 wagers placed between 2021 and 2024. His average was around 25 bets a day. Mizuhara gained access to a bank account of Ohtani’s and then transferred funds to cover his gambling debts, and impersonated him on the phone in order to make bank authorizations to bookmakers.
Ohtani is believed to be a victim in this case, and had no knowledge of the massive amount of theft that was occurring. He has fully cooperated with the investigation team. It was previously alleged that Mizuhara had pilfered $4.5 million from him, 4 times less than he actually had.
Mizuhera’s Bank Fraud originally came to light in March, and he was then fired by the Dodgers. He admitted to stealing from Ohtani via encrypted message to his bookmaker. The bookmaker sent the following text “obviously you didn’t steal from him. I understand it’s a cover job. I totally get it,” to which Mizuhara replied “technically I did steal from him. It’s all over for me.” Mizuhara can face up to 30 years in federal prison for the nature of this crime.
Bank fraud is a federal crime that can vary in scope from obtaining money from a bank to innocent customers through deception or misrepresentation. Bank fraud can relate to any fraudulent activity committed within a bank or targeting a bank. These actions could be committed by Bank employees who are attempting to obtain money through deception or it could be a banker who committed this crime. For example, a person is accused of committing bank fraud by pretending to be another person and illegally obtaining their property from the bank. At Dhar Law, LLP, we are familiar with all the different ways bank fraud can occur and how to build a strong defense against these types of charges.
The white collar crime of Bank Fraud can come with a harsh punishment of prison time and fines of up to a million dollars. You need a committed team of Bank Fraud defense attorneys when facing bank fraud charges that will help lessen or eliminate the penalties that you might be facing. At Dhar Law LLP, our experienced team will do everything in our power to protect you and build a strong case in your defense. Contact a member of our team today for more information (617) 880-6155
