Federal prosecutors are seeking a judge’s permission to seize baseball cards acquired by Shohei Ohtani’s former friend and translator through funds he stole from the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar.
An application was filed Monday in U.S. District Court that would allow the government to acquire the collection of cards—perhaps as much as $325,000 worth—that Ippei Mizuhara bought on eBay and Whatnot during the first three months of this year. They include both vintage and modern cards, according to a plea deal Mizuhara agreed to last spring.
Mizuhara, 39, is believed to have stolen more than $16 million from Ohtani in all, primarily to pay off gambling debts. He had served as Ohtani’s translator and helped manage the Japanese star’s day-to-day life.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California says Mizuhara, who lived in Newport Beach, used Ohtani’s bank account to make his card purchases beginning in January of this year and bought about 1,000 in all, using the alias “Jay Min.” At least some of the packages containing those cards were mailed to him in care of the Dodgers after Mizuhara told a clubhouse employee who handles mail for the team to set them aside for him.
Prosecutors indicated when Mizuhara pled guilty to bank and tax fraud charges that they had uncovered cards in multiple places. Monday’s application to seize the cards referenced some found in two cases and a box that belonged to Mizuhara. Government attorneys haven’t listed specific cards Mizuhara bought but indicated some featured Ohtani, Juan Soto and Yogi Berra.
It’s believed Mizuhara planned to sell the cards “at a later date,” according to the affidavit.
Assuming the court grants the seizure request, the cards would likely be sold with proceeds used to reimburse Ohtani for part of the missing money.
Most of the money Mizuhara is accused of stealing from Ohtani’s accounts has to do with debts he incurred while gambling an average of 25 times each day. In all, Mizuhara is accused of placing 19,000 bets, with a net loss of $40.7 million between late 2021 and early this year. Investigators have uncovered no evidence that any of the wagers involved Major League Baseball games.
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