Shohei Ohtani, the celebrated baseball player fresh off a spectacular World Series triumph and a National League MVP title with the Los Angeles Dodgers, finds himself entwined in a legal tussle with his former interpreter and confidant, Ippei Mizuhara. Mizuhara, who recently pleaded guilty to defrauding Ohtani of almost $17 million, is at the center of a dispute over $325,000 worth of baseball cards that were fraudulently obtained.
In a bold move, Ohtani has submitted a formal request to a federal judge at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, seeking the return of the valuable sports cards confiscated from Mizuhara by law enforcement authorities. He has unequivocally stated that the baseball cards in question were procured using his funds and therefore rightfully belong to him. A hearing on this matter has been scheduled for December 20.
The timeline of events reveals Mizuhara’s confession in June to engaging in bank and tax fraud, a scheme that saw him siphoning off millions from Ohtani. Mizuhara’s modus operandi involved misappropriating funds from Ohtani’s account to make purchases of baseball cards on various platforms like eBay and Whatnot, all in the hopes of turning a profit. Ohtani contends that these sports cards were acquired using his money and thus should be returned to him.
To add to the complexity of the case, Ohtani has notified the court about the discovery of “a quantity of personally signed collectible baseball cards” bearing his likeness among Mizuhara’s possessions, which were mistakenly included in the seized items. Ohtani is adamant about wanting these cards returned to him and has made it a central point in his petition to the court.
The inventory of seized items, as detailed in court documents, includes collectible sports cards housed in silver and black Panoply cases, as well as in gray Panoply cases. Additionally, a box containing more collectible sports cards, a card wrapping device, and plastic card protector holders were also confiscated during the investigation.
Mizuhara’s undoing stemmed from his unauthorized access to Ohtani’s bank account, leading to his dismissal from the Dodgers in March upon the revelation of his illicit activities. Originally slated for sentencing on October 25 and later rescheduled to December 20, the sentencing has now been further pushed back to January 24.
The upcoming hearing on December 20 will serve as a pivotal moment in determining whether Ohtani can rightfully reclaim possession of the confiscated sports cards, marking another twist in the ongoing aftermath of Mizuhara’s betrayal of the trust bestowed upon him by one of the prominent figures in baseball.