Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has asked a federal judge for ownership of $325,000 worth of baseball cards that he said were fraudulently purchased by his former interpreter, according to The Athletic.
Ohtani asked a federal judge in California on Tuesday for a hearing to regain ownership of sports cards that were seized from Ippei Mizhura, who pleaded guilty to defrauding Ohtani out of nearly $17 million in a massive scandal that dominated the weeks leading up to the season this past spring.
Between January and March of 2024, per the report, Mizuhara purchased baseball cards online with the intent to resell them. Ohtani said that they were purchased with his money, and he wants those back from authorities who seized the cards when they arrested Mizuhara. Ohtani also asked for “a quantity of personally signed collectible baseball cards” with his image back that were in Mizuhara’s possession when they were seized by authorities.
Mizuhara admitted to stealing almost $17 million from Ohtani to pay off sports betting debts earlier this year. He is facing up to 33 years in prison as a result. He is due back in court in January for sentencing. He was Ohtani’s longtime interpreter, and also acted as his financial point person when Ohtani moved to the United States in 2018.
Mizuhara averaged roughly 25 bets per day with an average wager of $12,800 from Dec. 2021 through January 2024, prosecutors said. He lost roughly $40.7 million total. With access to Ohtani’s bank accounts, Mizuhara stole millions to try to pay that debt off. The Dodgers fired Mizuhara earlier this year, and Ohtani has long denied knowledge of any of this. He cooperated with investigators, and insisted that he never bet on any sports and wasn’t aware that Mizuhara was stealing from him.
Ohtani and the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series earlier this fall. Ohtani unanimously won his third career MVP award after the season, too, despite not pitching once while recovering from elbow surgery he underwent at the end of his time with the Los Angeles Angels. As the Dodgers’ full-time DH, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. Ohtani is expected to take the mound again next season.
