Shohei Ohtani to Recover Baseball Cards Worth $325K from Former Interpreter Mizuhara

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani will recover $325,000 worth of baseball cards that his former interpreter and friend Ippei Mizuhara fraudulently purchased, per The Athletic's Sam Blum.

According to Blum, the government will move for an order "to reflect Ohtani's superior interest in the property" when Mizuhara is sentenced on Jan. 24.

Mizuhara purchased the cards online from January to March of 2024 with the intent to re-sell them. The cards featured Ohtani's image along with Yogi Berra and Juan Soto.

Last week, Ohtani requested a hearing from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to recover the fraudulently purchased cards that had been seized from Mizuhara. Prosecutors say that the hearing, which was scheduled for Dec. 20, is no longer necessary.

"Ohtani holds a valid pre-existing interest in Forfeitable Property as title to the Forfeitable Property was vested in Ohtani at the time of the commission of the acts which give rise to the forfeiture," the government wrote in its filing, per Blum.

In June, Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud after stealing almost $17 million from Ohtani's accounts to pay off sports betting debts. After being fired from the Dodgers in March, he was indicted by the federal government in April.

Along with the stolen cards and stolen money from Ohtani's accounts, Mizuhara pocketed a $60,000 check that Ohtani gave him to use for dental work and instead used Ohtani's debit card to pay for the procedure, according to a plea agreement in May. Per Blum, Mizuhara could be required to pay restitution to Ohtani.

Amid distractions off the field regarding Mizuhara, Ohtani won his third MVP award and led the Dodgers to the World Series, where they defeated the New York Yankees as the two-way star won his first championship.