Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter gets (within-guideline) sentence of 57 months

In this post a few weeks ago, titled "You be the umpire: what sentence for Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter?," I inquired what folks thought should be the federal sentence for Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani who admitted to stealing $17 million to help pay his gambling debts.  In that post, I noted that that Mizuhara sought a below-guideline sentence of 18 month while prosecutors sought a within-guideline sentence of 57 months.  This AP story reports on yesterday's sentencing:

The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani was sentenced Thursday to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account.

Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year.

He was ordered Thursday to pay $18 million in restitution, with nearly $17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the IRS. He was also sentenced to three years’ supervised release on top of the prison sentence and ordered to surrender to authorities by March 24.

“The magnitude of the theft — $17 million — in my view, is shockingly high,” U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb said upon issuing the sentence. Holcomb said most people don’t make that much money in their lifetime. “I hope that Mr. Mizuhara will be able to repay that sum,” Holcomb said. “That remains to be seen.”

Mizuhara addressed the court and apologized to Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the government and his family.... Mizuhara has acknowledged using the money to cover his growing gambling bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker, in addition to $325,000 worth of baseball cards and his own dental bills....

Mizuhara’s attorney, Michael Freedman, had asked for a sentence of one and a half years. During the sentencing hearing, he asked that the judge consider his client’s gambling addiction was challenged by his connection to a bookie willing to credit him large sums of money because of who he worked for. “He was exposed to a world in which he was given a unique and unlimited credit to run up these kinds of numbers,” Freedman said.

Federal prosecutor Jeff Mitchell said the amount stolen by Mizuhara amounted to about half of what Ohtani earned from the Los Angeles Angels when he pitched for them, and the damage went even further. “The most significant harm to Mr. Ohtani is the reputational damage, which may never be fully repaired,” Mitchell said....

Last year, Ohtani and the Dodgers won the World Series, and the baseball star won his third Most Valuable Player award.

Prior related post:

• You be the umpire: what sentence for Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter?