ANAHEIM, California During a change-of-plea hearing in federal court on Tuesday morning, Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, entered a guilty plea to charges of bank and tax fraud. The two counts carry a maximum sentence of 33 years. He will be sentenced on October 25 at 2:00 PM PT.

Major League Baseball, which had earlier disclosed that it had begun a separate investigation, declared that Ohtani was “a victim of fraud and this matter has been closed” in response to Mizuhara’s guilty plea. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani’s current team, also released a statement expressing their satisfaction that Shohei and the group can move past this whole situation and continue chasing a World Series championship.

“This full admission of guilt has brought important closure to me and my family now that the investigation has been completed,” Ohtani stated in a statement issued by a spokesperson. “I want to express my sincere gratitude to the authorities for finding all of the evidence and for their prompt, efficient, and comprehensive investigation.”

“I am especially grateful for my support team — my family, agent, agency, lawyers, and advisors along with the entire Dodgers organization, who showed endless support throughout this process,” Ohtani said in his statement. “This has been a uniquely challenging time for me.” It’s time to put this chapter behind us, move on, and keep concentrating on playing and winning baseball.”

Standing next to his lawyer, Michael Freedman, Mizuhara, 39, wore a black suit with a white undershirt. When asked if he was aware of the plea agreement and the rights he was giving up by admitting guilt, U.S. district judge John W. Holcomb repeatedly answered “Yes, sir” and “No, sir.”

Prosecution attorney Jeff Mitchell presented the bank fraud charges against Mizuhara near the end of the 50-minute hearing, which was held from the 10th floor of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Santa Ana, California. “I worked for Victim A [Ohtani] and I had access to his bank account and I had fallen into major gambling debt, and the only way that I could think of was to use his money,” Mizuhara said in response to Holcomb’s question about what he did. Bank A was accessible to me. I then used his bank account to send money to cover my gambling debt.”

Mizuhara, who could also be fined up to $1.25 million, left the courtroom with Freedman shortly afterward. As he was hounded by reporters as he made his way to a car service, he remained silent.

On April 11, Mizuhara was charged by federal authorities with bank fraud after it was purported that he transferred almost $17 million from Ohtani’s account to settle gambling debts with Mathew Bowyer, an offshore bookmaker who is the subject of a federal investigation. According to an initial complaint, Mizuhara bet without Ohtani’s knowledge between December 2021 and January 2024, placing somewhere between 19,000 wagers, winning more than $142M and losing more than $182M. Federal authorities claim that no bets were placed on baseball.

Ohtani’s on-field earnings from his previous six-year stint with the Los Angeles Angels were contained in the bank account in question. In order for Mizuhara to personally receive notifications for the account, she first assisted Ohtani in opening it in 2018 and then changed the registered emails and phone numbers. According to a plea deal, Mizuhara pretended to be Ohtani at least 24 times when she spoke on the phone with bank agents who were trying to confirm wire transfers. Ohtani claimed in interviews with federal prosecutors that he was ignorant of and never gave his approval for those wire transfers.