Ippei Mizuhara, 39, who surrendered to authorities earlier in the day, did not enter a plea during a proceeding lasting about 25 minutes before a U.S. District Court magistrate judge in downtown Los Angeles. He was ordered to return for an arraignment set for May 9.
Mizuhara, 39, said little during the hearing except to answer /”yes/” to a number of questions posed by the judge, Maria Audero.
In addition to setting bond at 25,000 bond, Audero imposed a number of conditions for Mizuhara’s release, including a requirement that he enter into gambling addiction treatment and refrain from any contact with gamblers, bookmakers or Ohtani.
Under an agreement reached with prosecutors in advance, Mizuhara had turned himself over to law enforcement on Friday morning.
A 36-page federal criminal complaint and affidavit filed on Thursday (April 11) in federal court alleges that Mizuhara engaged in bank fraud by embezzling 16 million from an account of Ohtani’s that Mizuhara had helped set up.
Mizuhara, 39, is accused in the court documents of sending the funds without Ohtani’s knowledge to an illegal sports gambling operation.
On Thursday, U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada stressed there was nothing to suggest wrongdoing by Ohtani, who signed a record 700 million, 10-year contract to join the Dodgers this season as the league’s highest-paid player.
/”I want to emphasize this point. Mr. Ohtani was a victim in this case,/” Estrada said in announcing the results of his investigation.
The outcome spared the Dodgers and Major League Baseball a potential scandal of epic proportions, recalling the controversy stirred 35 years ago when Pete Rose was accused of gambling on baseball games, including those of his own team, while he played for and managed the Cincinnati Reds.
Ohtani, 29, whose talents as a slugger and a pitcher have earned him comparisons to Babe Ruth, told reporters at a March 25 press conference that he was a victim of theft by Mizuhara and that he never bet on baseball or knowingly paid a bookmaker.
If convicted on the single count of bank fraud with which he is charged, Mizuhara could face a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
Starting in late 2021, Mizuhara began gambling with an illegal sports book and losing substantial sums, according to the federal affidavit.
To cover his debts, Mizuhara impersonated Ohtani over the phone to /”trick and deceive/” bank employees into authorizing wire transfers from Ohtani’s account, where the player’s baseball salary was deposited, the affidavit said.
(Production: Jack Ferry, Omar Younis, Matt M. McKnight)
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