Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter initially told an ESPN reporter that the Los Angeles Dodgers star had agreed to pay off his huge gambling debts, according to a newly released audio recording.
Less than 24 hours later, Ippei Mizuhara admitted to the same reporter, Tisha Thompson, that he had lied.
Mizuhara currently is serving a 57-month prison sentence after admitting to stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani and pleading guilty to federal charges of bank fraud and tax evasion.
The recording of Thompson’s interview with Mizuhara is featured in “The Betrayal of Shohei Ohtani,” a six-episode series from 30 for 30 Podcasts.
Mizuhara told Thompson he started betting with an illegal bookmaker after meeting him at a poker game. Mizuhara said he approached Ohtani for help after his debts mounted.
“I asked him if he could pay my debt off. He had to give it some thought,” Mizuhara said in the first interview with Thompson in March 2024.
Mizuhara said Ohtani was concerned about giving him the money because he didn’t trust him not to gamble with it.
“He wanted to make sure it’s going back to the debts,” Mizuhara said.
When the Dodgers fired Mizuhara the day after that interview and Ohtani’s attorneys accused him of a “massive theft,” he recanted much of what he had told Thompson during a second interview.
Last month, Mizuhara, 41, reported to a low-security Pennsylvania prison Monday to begin serving his sentence.
His sentence included an order to provide financial restitution to Ohtani. He also must pay $1.15 million to the IRS.
Mizuhara worked as Ohtani’s interpreter with the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers, with the pair characterized as close friends before Ohtani severed ties following the theft revelations.
