Shortly after federal prosecutors charged Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Thursday with unlawfully transferring millions of dollars from the of the MLB star, news of the complaint circulated through a ballroom at a glitzy Tampa hotel.
When prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, unsealed charges against Ippei Mizuhara Thursday afternoon, a contingent of gambling attorneys sat through a luncheon address at the 2024 International Masters of Gambling Law Spring Conference in Tampa Bay. There is some irony that the luncheon tackled issues on problem and responsible gaming considering that Mizuhara incurred massive losses on sports betting in the last three years.
Mizuhara, 39, is accused of illegally transferring more than $16 million from Ohtani’s bank to pay off gambling debts incurred with a California illegal bookmaking operation. The charges immediately raised an eyebrow for key stakeholders at the conference considering that previous reports placed the figure at closer to $4.5 million.
“This is troubling, it’s the shot heard around the world,” said Bill Pascrell III, partner at Princeton Public Affairs Group. “We have to get ahead of this, the industry needs to be more self-regulating and has to take issues like this far more seriously.”
Losses in excess of $40 million 2d3y70
Over a 37-month period through this January, Mizuhara made approximately 19,000 wagers on sports, resulting in an average of about 25 bets per day. According to the complaint, Mizuhara wagered approximately $10 to $160,000 per bet, with an average bet amount of roughly $12,800.
During the period, Mizuhara accumulated winning bets of $142.3 million, an amount offset by losses of $182.9 million.
The elevated losses created a net balance of approximately minus-$40.6 million. The wagering activity did not involve any bets on baseball, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint filed today. Ippei Mizuhara wagered $325.1 million and lost $40.7 million over 25 months.
That's a -12.52% edge on his wagers.
To put that in perspective. The states of Delaware, Montana, and South Dakota with a combined population of 3.05 million…
— Captain Jack Andrews (@capjack2000) April 11, 2024
Ian Thomas, an attorney for Washington D.C. based law firm Offit Kurman, also serves as outside counsel for the National Council on Problem Gambling. Thomas appeared on the luncheon which addressed ethical issues surrounding problem gambling policy across the nation.
It should be noted that Mizuhara allegedly placed the wagers with an illicit gambling ring in California, where sports betting is illegal. Thomas noted the case reinforces the notion that compulsive gambling can seep into the black market since commercial operators have placed an emphasis on promoting responsible gambling.
“It 100 percent confirms the need for a regulated market because in most, if not all jurisdictions, you are required by the regulators to have some of these tools in place. You have monitoring (requirements) and you have resources you can push to them,” he told Sports Handle.
Ohtani has vehemently denied placing wagers on sports or approving the transfer of funds to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debts.
More robust compliance standards 3603a
Hours before Thursday’s announcement, the on a possible plea agreement. Since reports surfaced last March of the wagering activity, ESPN reviewed two wire transfers of $500,000 each sent from an individual with access to Ohtani’s bank to an associate of a bookmaker. The illegal bookie has been identified as Matt Bowyer, a longtime VIP sports bettor. Mizuhara later itted to sending several other wire transfers to cover his gambling debts, ESPN reported.
Ohtani, who barely speaks English, accompanied Mizuhara to an Arizona bank branch in 2018 to open a bank , according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Mizuhara, according to federal prosecutors, translated for Ohtani when setting up the details.
Say it ain't Sho! Ohtani's interpreter is negotiating with the feds, reports @MattRybaltowski.https://t.co/7xLHI1Qxo0
— Sports Handle (@sports_handle) April 11, 2024
According to the complaint, Mizuhara wired more than $16 million in unauthorized transfers from a checking that belonged to Ohtani. The transfers from the allegedly were made from devices and IP addresses associated with Mizuhara, who served as Ohtani’s translator and de facto manager, the U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote in a statement.
At one point, Mizuhara falsely identified himself as Ohtani in an attempt to deceive bank officials into authorizing wire transfers to the bookmaker. Last June, the interpreter represented himself as Ohtani, according to the complaint, when he requested a wire transfer of $500,000 to an associate of Bowyer.
Chris Seymour, an agent with the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations bureau, wrote in an affidavit that he recognized Mizuhara’s voice during an attempted interview that took place earlier last month. Mizuhara speaks English fluently, while Ohtani does not.
The case may lead to enhanced compliance standards for banks when facilitating transactions for high net worth athletes.
“I would hope that the bank brought this to the attention of the authorities, because if it is the other way around that bank is going to have serious problems,” Pascrell said.
Here are some key revelations in the 36-page criminal complaint filed by the US Justice Department against Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter of Shohei Ohtani. https://t.co/vPUQgUMUCX
— Bloomberg Asia (@BloombergAsia) April 11, 2024
North of the U.S. border, Canada has also dealt with allegations of player betting among professional athletes. Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter is under investigation for suspicious wagering activity related to two of his player props. In 2019, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas filed a lawsuit against NHL forward Evander Kane over a series of unpaid casino debts. The Cosmo dropped the suit the following April.
Then with the San Jose Sharks, Kane reportedly withdrew markers between $20,000 and $100,000 during the 2019 NHL Playoffs. According to the suit, Kane allegedly withdrew the markers between Games 3 and 4 of a playoff series against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. A resident of Vancouver, Kane is now a forward on the Edmonton Oilers. Ron Segev, founding partner of Segev LLP., is one of the most recognized gambling and sports betting attorneys in Canada.
Some banks have a comprehensive risk department that reviews large wire transfers the size of ones transmitted from Ohtani’s , Segev noted. If a transfer falls outside of certain “behavioral norms” it should have been flagged, he explained. In this case, Segev is not sure any of the transfers met the standards for suspicious activity, however. While Ohtani had a net worth of around $50 million as of March, he signed a historic 10-year, $700 million contract in the offseason.
“You can spend $6 million on a car these days,” Segev told Sports Handle.
In some instances, the risk evaluation process can be automated, Segev added. Still, he suggests the bank could have done a better job in ensuring the transactions were authorized.
Federal prosecutors have charged Mizuhara with one count of bank fraud, a felony offense that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.
“I think a criminally-minded person is going to be a criminally-minded person,” Segev said. “His interpreter knew that he should not be doing this. He probably had a clear understanding that this was bank fraud of some kind.”
Moving forward, Segev is in favor of a push by banks to tighten up scrutiny over large transactions. He also called on professional sports leagues and respective players’ associations to issue new guidelines on athletes for interactions with compulsive gamblers.
“It would be a prophylactic, it wouldn’t be a deterrent – it would be more proactive,” he said.
