As Ippei Mizuhara learned his fate, he stood calmly before a federal judge resigned to the grim reality that his destructive gambling habit would result in severe consequences.

Mizuhara, the disgraced former interpreter of Shohei Ohtani, begged Judge John Holcomb for mercy on Thursday as he tearfully apologized to the MLB star for betraying his trust. Moments earlier, Holcomb excoriated Mizuhara for embezzling $17 million from Ohtani, an amount the judge described as more than most people earn in a lifetime. Holcomb then imposed a 57-month prison sentence to Mizuhara, one that is expected to begin next month.

The interpreter received the sentence 11 months after a bombshell report rocked baseball-crazed Japan, where the beloved MLB star is a national hero. The Dodgers fired Mizuhara last March in South Korea following the opening game of the 2024 Seoul Series. The interpreter admitted to stealing millions from the star to cover his massive gambling debt, recanting a prior story that Ohtani lent him the money.

Mizuhara received his sentence on Thursday as the sports betting industry continues to digest a bevy of gambling scandals across North America. Over the last year, MLB and the NBA have issued lifetime bans against players for gambling-related infractions. In college basketball, several schools are reportedly under federal investigation for suspicious betting patterns on wagers against their teams. Asked to explain the confluence of nefarious activity across the industry, Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally pointed to the temptation for winning large sums of money by orchestrating complex fraudulent schemes.

The hearing transpired three days before the Super Bowl, the largest one-day event on the annual sports betting calendar.

A Costly Bump

Given Mizuhara’s low six-figure salary as an interpreter, the amounts he wagered with an illegal California bookie are staggering. During a 37-month span, Mizuhara placed approximately 19,000 wagers on sports, ranging between $10 and $160,000 per bet. Despite netting winning bets that totaled $142.3 million, Mizuhara accumulated losses of $182.9 million with an illegal betting ring operated by Mathew Bowyer.

Mizuhara claims he was introduced to Bowyer by a former Angels’ teammate of Ohtani at a poker game in 2021. Bowyer, according to court filings, staked Mizuhara with startup credit of $20,000, a large percentage of the $87,000 salary the interpreter received that year from the Angels. On several occasions, Bowyer raised Mizuhara’s betting limits, providing the bettor with a “bump,” in gambling parlance.

On Jan. 2, 2022, Mizuhara asked if Bowyer could reload his account after he went bust. The bookie responded by granting him a $50,000 bump. Approximately two weeks later, Mizuhara returned again, after he quickly lost it all. By that December, Mizuhara pleaded for a bump to $200,000, informing Bowyer that he swore on “his Mom,” it would be his last request before paying in full. Although the debts snowballed, topping $1 million, Bowyer continually increased the limits. Mizuhara admitted to placing wagers on soccer, NBA, and NHL contests among others, but not on Major League Baseball.

The shocking case was uncovered by several federal agencies, namely IRS Criminal Investigations. Mizuhara plead guilty last June to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return.

“Mr. Mizuhara exploited his position of trust as an advisor to steal from Mr. Ohtani to cover debts incurred through illegal and irresponsible gambling,” said Tyler Hatcher, special agent in charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office.

Compulsive Gambling Implications

Overwhelmed by working for the world’s most famous baseball player, the interpreter sought refuge by betting heavily on sports. At one point, he told a forensic psychologist that he “only saw hope,” while gambling. Since his admission last year, Mizuhara has received treatment for compulsive gambling, attending thrice-weekly Gambler’s Anonymous sessions, according to Michael Freedman, his attorney.

Freedman cited several other instances when defendants with a compulsive gambling problem received leniency from a court. The defense submitted a memo in U.S. v. Caspersen, involving a 2016 conviction of a financier for securities fraud. Andrew Caspersen, a former managing director at PJT Partners’ Park Hill Group, pleaded guilty to engaging in a $38 million scheme, swindling a number of groups, including a charitable foundation. Further evidence showed that Caspersen bilked investors out of at least $95 million, while surreptitiously using some of the funds to place put options on the S&P 500.

As with Mizuhara, Caspersen experienced wild swings through his trading activity. At one point, he earned enough through aggressive trading strategies that he could have paid back all of his investors, while retaining $60 million for himself. Though prosecutors recommended a sentence of 15 2/3 years, Caspersen persuaded Federal Judge Jed Rakoff that he struggled with a gambling addiction. Rakoff sentenced Caspersen to four years.

In pleading for leniency, Caspersen’s attorneys cited another case where a Wisconsin woman embezzled more than $1 million from her employer to cover a history of slot machine losses. In that case, the office manager received 15 months, far below the 41-to 51-month range proscribed in the sentencing guidelines.

As the losses piled up, Mizuhara claimed he became antsy when he didn’t bet. Despite facing a mountain of debt, Mizuhara still tried to convince himself that he could win it back, he wrote in a letter to the court. Ultimately, his goal proved to be next to impossible. Mizuhara averaged about 25 bets per day, amounting to overall net losses of $40.2 million. The addiction in combination with Mizuhara’s easy access to gamble on credit should be viewed as mitigating factors, Freedman argued.

Harry Levant serves as director of gambling policy with the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) at Northeastern University School of Law. One of the nation’s foremost experts on gambling addiction, Levant testified at December’s federal sports betting hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Levant, a reformed gambler, avoided prison time in 2016 despite admitting to stealing $2 million to cover his gambling debts.

Transformed by the life-changing experience, Levant is conducting research on developing a public health approach to prevent gambling-related harm and gambling disorders. Prior to Thursday’s sentencing, Levant explained that no one wants to be “caught in the unrelenting grip,” of gambling addiction. While in the throes of addiction, Mizuhara also hurt many people, including those closest to him, Levant emphasized.

“With appropriate state-of-the-art treatment, Mr. Mizuhara can find recovery and again become a productive and healthy member of society,” Levant wrote in an email. “He can rebuild his life, become a role model for others, and make amends for the damage he has caused.”

Jeff Mitchell, the lead prosecutor in the case, described how Ohtani lavished Mizuhara with luxurious gifts such as an expensive Porsche SUV. In one instance, Ohtani paid for first-class tickets on an international plane flight for Mizuhara and his wife. The baseball star also covered the rent for Mizuhara’s apartment in Orange County.

“In return, the defendant lied, cheated, and stole,” said Mitchell during the hearing.

The punishment is less severe than a sentence Amit Patel received last year. Patel, a former executive with the Jacksonville Jaguars received an 8 ½ year sentence for embezzling $22 million from the team. Patel, who served as the sole custodian of the club’s virtual credit card program, used the stolen funds to whet his enormous sports betting appetite.

A Confluence Of Betting Investigations

Mizuhara is not the only baseball figure who has seen his career derailed this year by the trappings of gambling. On Monday, MLB fired umpire Pat Hoberg after an investigation determined that he shared a sports betting account with a poker player who bet on baseball. It came days after a report surfaced that federal prosecutors launched an investigation into whether Heat guard Terry Rozier allegedly manipulated his performance for financial gain.

The investigation, the Wall Street Journal reported, is part of a larger inquiry into a syndicate that conspired with former Raptors center Jontay Porter in a separate case. Banned by the NBA for life, Porter is facing sentencing later this spring. In addition, ESPN reported last week that the ring may have had involvement with anomalous betting patterns on three college basketball programs this season – Central Michigan, North Carolina A&T, and Mississippi Valley State. Several other schools appear to be connected to the case, including Temple, which had one game taken off the board last season amid rapid line movements, a marker for suspicious activity.

“There is a lot of money in the industry and that creates opportunity for people who want to violate the law,” said McNally outside the courthouse. “Fundamentally, there is an opportunity where people can make a lot of money in that space by engaging in criminal conduct.”

Bowyer, himself, is scheduled to be sentenced in April on a conviction of operating an illegal sports betting ring, transactional money laundering, and tax evasion. Though Bowyer admitted feeling guilty for Mizuhara’s downfall, he indicated this week that it eventually became obvious that the interpreter stole money from Ohtani without asking for his permission.

“He never acted as if the dollar amounts impacted him for one second,” Bowyer told the New York Post. “He was so polite and respectful.”

A Lost Friendship

Ohtani was not spotted in the Santa Ana courtroom on Thursday and his attorney Blair Berk did not respond to a request for comment. While Ohtani submitted a victim impact statement to the court, the statement remained under seal on Thursday, a spokesman from the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed.

Ohtani, however, issued a statement last summer following Mizuhara’s plea hearing, claiming that Mizuhara’s admission of guilt brought “full closure,” to himself and his family. Major League Baseball cleared Ohtani of any wrongdoing in the case, declaring him a victim of massive theft.

Mizuhara was ordered to surrender by Noon pacific on March 24. Ohtani’s former interpreter left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. Reputed as Ohtani’s closest confidant in the U.S., Mizuhara must rue how their friendship deteriorated over compulsive gambling.

“I admire Shohei as a baseball player and a human being, I was committed to devote my life so Shohei can be the best version of himself on the field,” Mizuhara wrote in his letter to the court. “I want to say I am truly sorry for violating his trust in me.”