Shohei Ohtani’s ex-translator impersonated Dodgers star to push 6-figure wire transfer, audio reveals

Federal prosecutors on Thursday released a four-minute audio recording that shows Shohei Ohtani former translator, Ippei Mizuhara, is allegedly trying to push a six-figure wire transfer from one of the Los Angeles Dodgers star’s accounts by impersonating him.

Mizuhara was convicted of defrauding Ohtani, MVP of the National League and world baseball superstars, and the tape obtained by The Athletic from the Department of Justice is key evidence.

That was mentioned in the court filing, in which prosecutors also recommended a nearly five-year sentence for Mizuhara and an order to make restitution to Ohtani, according to The Athletic.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS REPORTS ON FOXNEWS.COM

Mizuhara, who should be sentenced on February 6 pleaded guilty of bank fraud and filing a false tax return after stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani, with whom he had been best friends for years, in June 2024.

The tape was obtained from the bank, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Mitchell told The Athletic, and it supports prosecutors’ claims that Mizuhara would call banks to arrange wire transfers.

Prosecutors added that the footage was edited to redact the names of the banks and the name of an “unindicated accomplice”.

FORMER TRANSLATOR SHOHEI OHTANI PLEADS GUILTY TO CHARGES IN SPORTS BETTING CASE

In the video, Mizuhara clearly states that his name is Ohtani after a bank agent asks him, “Who am I talking to?” Mizuhara bypassed the bank’s security measures and changed Ohtani’s account information to include his email and phone number.

So when a bank agent asks Mizuhara to perform two-factor authentication using a six-digit code sent to a phone number, he can do it because it goes to his phone instead of Ohtani’s.

The video shows Mizuhara plugging the numbers together, allowing the agent to work on his request, a $200,000 car loan.

“Recently, we have come across a trend of scams and scams, so we are carefully monitoring online transactions to make sure our customers are not victims of either,” the agent says first. “What is the reason for this transaction?”

Then, the agent asks “Ohtani” what his relationship is with the recipient, to which Mizuhara says, “He’s my friend.”

“Have you met your friend in person,” replies the agent.

“Yes, many times,” Mizuhara replied.

Mizuhara said he stole from Ohtani to cover a “large gambling debt,” which he said in a brief statement after pleading guilty.

“I went ahead and transferred the money … to his bank account,” Mizuhara said in a statement at the time.

Prosecutors asked for the damages amount to be set at nearly $17 million for Ohtani, although it was noted that Mizuhara could not pay that back to the All-Star. The IRS is seeking another $1.1 million in damages.

The former interpreter’s winning bets totaled more than $142 million, which he deposited into his own bank account, not Ohtani’s. His lost bets were about $183 million. He didn’t bet on baseball.

There is also no indication that Ohtani bet on baseball.

The Athletic reported that a court filing said that between December 2021 and January 2024, Mizuhara placed about 19,000 bets online through Matthew Bowyer, his bookie who also pleaded guilty to running an illegal gambling operation in August 2024.

Mizuhara’s debt was $40.7 million.

“His years of theft of funds from Mr. Ohtani and the countless lies he told to Mr. Ohtani’s agents and financial advisors to cover up his theft constitute a calculated betrayal of the very person he was hired to help,” Mitchell wrote in the court filing.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“To sum up how I feel right now, I’m beyond shocked,” Ohtani said in a statement last year on the matter. “It’s really hard to verbalize how I feel right now.

“I am very saddened and shocked that this was done by someone I trusted.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports broadcast on Xand subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.