Ippei Mizuhara Retracts Detailed Recollection of Shohei Ohtani Sending Money from Computer

It’s amazing how much testimony can change in just one night.

On March 20, Ippei Mizuhara, an interpreter and “partner” of Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, was fired by the team.

Ohtani’s lawyer announced that he had been the victim of grand larceny and had decided to turn him over to the authorities. Mizuhara is believed to have embezzled millions of dollars in illegal bookmaker debts.

According to U.S. sports channel ESPN, at least $4.5 million was transferred from Ohtani’s bank account to illegal bookmaker Bowyer’s associates, the report said.

Federal authorities learned of Otani’s wire transfers in January as part of an investigation into Bowyer’s bookmaking business, according to the report. Federal prosecutor’s office officials declined to comment on this.

Mizuhara gave a 90-minute interview to ESPN on the evening of January 19 local time, giving details. When he began betting after meeting Mr. Bowyer at a poker game in San Diego in 2021, his losses ballooned to more than $1 million by the end of 2022, and the debt is believed to have grown further from there. Mr. Mizuhara said,

“I dug my own hole, and that hole kept getting bigger and bigger. To escape from it, I had to make even bigger bets, which led to continuous losses. It’s like a snowball effect.” 

He admitted, acknowledging his gambling addiction and realizing that he had fallen deeper into the quagmire.

“During the interview, Mr. Mizuhara mentioned that he had asked Mr. Ohtani for assistance and received his agreement to help with the debt repayment. Then, Mr. Mizuhara described how Mr. Ohtani logged onto his own computer in front of him and initiated wire transfers over several months last year.

When asked by the interviewer why Mr. Ohtani didn’t directly pay Mr. Boyer’s associates and instead gave the money to him, Mr. Mizuhara revealed, ‘Mr. Ohtani doesn’t trust me when it comes to money.’ With this statement, it’s evident that the trust between the two had already crumbled.” (News sportswriter) 

However, Mr. Mizuhara retracted most of his statements the afternoon after this interview.

Despite recalling and testifying about such specific scenes, he completely reversed his testimony within half a day, claiming, 

“Ohtani knows nothing.”

He completely reversed his testimony, making a 180-degree turn.

On the other hand, the Ohtani camp maintains it was a large-scale theft. Indeed, if Mizuhara had access to Ohtani’s ID and password, unauthorized transfers might not have been impossible. However, with so many contradictions, it’s clear that someone is lying.

Just the other day, Mizuhara appeared with his wife, alongside Ohtani’s wife, in public. Who could have imagined that it would be Ohtani’s own partner, Mizuhara, who would tarnish his auspicious beginning—quite the unexpected turn of events.