In June, Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara reported to federal prison in Pennsylvania. He began a 57-month sentence with possible deportation on the horizon.
A year earlier, he pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return. He admitted to placing nearly 20,000 bets with an illegal bookie over a two-year period, accumulating over $40 million in debt. He stole $17 million from Ohtani to fund his gambling.
He had faced decades in prison without a plea deal.
In seeking a lenient prison sentence of 18 months, Mizuhara’s defense team said he had a gambling addiction. Mizuhara was court-ordered to attend a program to treat gambling addiction.
Problem gambling in this case seems obvious enough, right?
Well, prosecutors said in court filings from earlier this year that he wasn’t addicted.
On average, it takes 7 to 10 years for a person with a gambling addiction to seek treatment after the onset of disordered gambling, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Here’s a screenshot of what prosecutors wrote about his addiction defense.
There’s a lot to unpack here.
Lack of Problem Gambling Evidence?
It’s peculiar that “legal gambling” is stressed here. Mizuhara admitted to illegal gambling.
The federal government said that it “looked at more than 30 [brick-and-mortar] casinos across the country for evidence of defendant’s gambling, and the only evidence found was defendant spending $200 at The Mirage casino [in Las Vegas] during a weekend in 2008.”
In one of the exhibits, prosecutors attached a photocopy of Mizuhara’s California driver’s license, along with spreadsheet images showing bets he placed at The Mirage. Another exhibit showed some bets on a legal app.
We don’t know which 30 casinos the government referenced. There are hundreds across the U.S.
It’s also unclear how it can be determined with complete certainty that he never visited a specific casino over the course of many years.
Many casinos have state-of-the-art surveillance and visitors often present identification before or after gambling. Still, isn’t it possible that he gambled at a casino without there being any verifiable record of it?
Lastly, prosecutors mentioned that he barely used two of the leading state-sanctioned sports betting apps. It’s not entirely clear why this is relevant.
“Defendant also registered for FanDual (sic) in 2018 but never placed a bet, and only began betting online with DraftKings in 2023 after defendant had already stolen millions of dollars from Mr. Ohtani.”
It doesn’t seem relevant that Mizuhara was able to keep his betting under control on FanDuel and DraftKings.
Gambling Texts to Bookie
The government uncovered text messages that he sent to his illegal bookie. In one of the messages, Mizuhara literally said that he had a gambling “problem.”
Here’s a look at some of them, as reported by The New York Times.
Jan. 15, 2022: F— I lost it all lol … can you ask (Bowyer) if he can bump me 50k? That will be my last one for a while if I lose it.
Nov. 14, 2022: I’m terrible at this sport betting thing huh? Lol . . . Any chance u can bump me again?? As you know, you don’t have to worry about me not paying!!
Dec. 9, 2022: Can u bump me last 200? I swear on my mom this will be the last ask before I pay it off once I get back to the states. Sorry for keep on asking…
June 23, 2023: I’m the worst lol… can’t catch a break… Can I get one last bump? I swear this is gonna be my last until I get the balance down significantly… I promise this will be the last bump for a while.
June 24, 2023: I have a problem lol… Can I get one last last last bump? This one is for real… Last one for real
Do these messages prove that he had long-standing disordered gambling? No—but they certainly suggest it’s likely.
Letter to Judge
Mizuhara’s legal team wrote that he had “struggled with gambling dependence” since 18. They added that he began playing online poker and sports betting at 22.
The defense didn’t blame the entirety of the theft and fraud on addiction, but said that “gambling addiction was a major driving factor behind his criminal behavior.”
A defense psychologist said that Mizuhara’s gambling addiction may have been “a direct, unconscious attempt on Mr. Mizuhara’s part to address his unidentified depression, beginning when he was yet in high school. He learned over time that he could distract and redirect his problematic, dysphoric feeling states, with the intensity of gambling.”
In a letter to the judge, Mizuhara himself wrote: “I definitely feel like I had a terrible addiction at the time and I only saw hope in life while I was gambling.”
Significance of Government’s Claim
Gambling addiction stigma plays a big role in preventing many people from seeking treatment.
According to Rutgers University, only around 8% of these individuals will ever seek help for problem gambling.
And it’s normal for someone with the addiction to wait many years before getting help. Gambling addiction is also not a linear progression.
The government in the Mizuhara case wanted him to serve more time than what the defense sought. Prosecutors sought 57 months, and that’s what he received.
The claim that he didn’t have a gambling addiction prior to the criminal conduct might have swayed the judge that Mizuhara deserved more time behind bars.
Still, it doesn’t appear that the evidence against his gambling addiction was strong.
Any instance of undermining what appears to be a legitimate case of gambling addiction isn’t doing any favors for the fight to reduce the stigma in the U.S.
With sports betting sanctioned in most states, officials at the federal and state levels should always work to bring down mental walls that prevent people from seeking help.
For the sake of public health, Mizuhara should have been given the benefit of the doubt on this detail of the case.
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