Ippei Mizuhara, the former translator of Shohei Ohtani, has been charged with bank fraud after a federal investigation revealed he unlawfully transferred more than $16 million from Ohtani’s bank account to pay off gambling debts to an illegal bookmaking operation.

Mizuhara, who was fired by the Dodgers last month after the allegations became public, is expected to appear in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming days. Bank fraud is a felony offense that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.

Martin Estrada, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, detailed the criminal complaint during a press conference late Thursday morning in Los Angeles.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Mizuhara wired more than $16 million in unauthorized transfers from Ohtani’s checking account between November 2021 and January 2024.

“I want to emphasize this point: Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case,” Estrada said. “There is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Ohtani authorized the over $16 million of transfers from his account to the bookmakers.”

MLB released the following statement:

“We are aware of the charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office against Mr. Mizuhara for bank fraud after a thorough federal investigation. According to that investigation, Shohei Ohtani is considered a victim of fraud and there is no evidence that he authorized betting with an illegal bookmaker. Further, the investigation did not find any betting on baseball by Mr. Mizuhara. Given the information disclosed today, and other information we have already collected, we will wait until resolution of the criminal proceeding to determine whether further investigation is warranted.”

In 2018, shortly after Ohtani joined the Angels for his first season in the Majors, Mizuhara helped him open a bank account in Arizona, translating for Ohtani while setting up the account. Ohtani’s salary was deposited in that account, though he never gave Mizuhara -- whom Estrada said was “acting as Mr. Ohtani’s de facto manager” -- control over any of his financial accounts, according to the affidavit.

“Mizuhara refused to give access to the account to the rest of Ohtani’s other professional advisors including his agent, accountant and financial advisor, telling them Ohtani wanted to keep that account private,” Estrada said.

Beginning in September 2021, Mizuhara began gambling with an illegal bookmaker, and according to the affidavit, “started losing substantial sums of money.” During this time, the contact information on Ohtani’s bank account was changed to link the account to Mizuhara’s phone number and an anonymous e-mail address connected to Mizuhara.

“Messages between Mr. Mizuhara and the bookmaker show that he lost considerable money on those bets, but he continued to make the wagers -- thousands of wagers over time,” Estrada said. “The bets do not appear to have been made on the sport of baseball.”

Recordings of telephone calls obtained during the investigation revealed that Mizuhara also falsely identified himself as Ohtani while speaking to bank employees on more than one occasion, convincing them to approve the large wire transfers.

Ohtani cooperated fully with investigators, denying any authorization of Mizuhara’s wire transfers. Ohtani provided access to his cell phone to law enforcement, who determined there was no evidence that Ohtani was aware of, or involved in, any of Mizuhara’s illegal gambling activity or payment of his debts. Estrada said investigators reviewed thousands of communications regarding the case, along with phone and bank records.

“That review has demonstrated no discussion [between Ohtani and Mizuhara] of betting, wagers or authorization for transfers to bookmakers,” Estrada said. “Furthermore, there would have been no reason for Mizuhara to impersonate Mr. Ohtani in calls with the bank if these transfers had been authorized.”

On any occasions that Mizuhara won his bets, the winnings were not deposited into Ohtani’s account, Estrada said, but rather in Mizuhara’s personal account. Estrada also said that in a text message with one of the bookmakers, Mizuhara admitted that he had stolen money from Ohtani.

“Our investigation has revealed that due to the position of trust he occupied with Mr. Ohtani, Mr. Mizuhara had unique access to Mr. Ohtani’s finances,” Estrada said. “Mr. Mizuhara used and abused that position of trust in order to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani. Mr. Mizuhara used and abused that position of trust in order to plunder Mr. Ohtani’s bank account to the tune of over $16 million. And Mr. Mizuhara did all this to feed his insatiable appetite for illegal sports betting. In this way, as we allege in the complaint, Mr. Mizuhara committed fraud on a massive scale.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mizuhara also allegedly used the same account to purchase approximately 1,000 baseball cards for approximately $325,000 via eBay and Whatnot, and had them mailed to the Dodgers clubhouse under the alias “Jay Min.”

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Mitchell of the Major Frauds Section, Dan Boyle of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section, and Rachel N. Agress of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section will prosecute Mizuhara’s case. The New York Times reported Wednesday night that Mizuhara was in negotiations to enter a guilty plea.

“We will prosecute the case wherever it goes,” Estrada said. “Whether Mr. Mizuhara admits his guilt or whether he decides to contest his guilt, we will follow it where the law appropriately leads us.”