Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was sentenced to nearly five years in prison on Thursday after stealing about $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star in order to pay off his gambling debts.
Mizuhara was handed a 57-month prison sentence by U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb at a federal courthouse in Santa Ana, Calif., on Thursday afternoon. He will also have three years of supervised release and be required to pay Ohtani $17 million in restitution and an additional $1.1 million to the IRS, according to Tisha Thompson of ESPN.
Mizuhara's lawyer reportedly sought an 18-month sentence for his client, but the judge ruled in favor of the 57-month sentence. The judge ruled that the 40-year-old should self-surrender on March 24. The Japan native could also potentially be deported after completing his sentence.
Mizuhara admitted to placing as many as 19,000 bets over a two-year period and racking up a gambling debt of over $40 million. Last summer, he pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return.
"I truly admire Shohei as a baseball player and a human being and I was committed to devote my life so Shohei can be the best version of himself on the field. I want to say I am truly sorry for violating his trust in me," said Mizuhara to the court, via the BBC.
