Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has asked a federal judge to take possession of $325,000 worth of baseball cards that he says were fraudulently purchased by his former interpreter.
Ohtani asked a federal judge in California for a hearing on Tuesday to regain ownership of sports cards that were seized from nearly $17 million in a massive scandal that dominated the weeks leading up to the season last spring.
According to the report, between January and March 2024, Mizuhara purchased baseball cards online with the intention of reselling them. Ohtani said they were purchased with his money and he wants them back from the authorities who seized the cards when Mizuhara was arrested. Ohtani also asked for “a number of personally autographed collectible baseball cards” featuring his image that Misuhara had when they were seized by authorities.
pay off sports betting debts earlier this year. He is . He is due back in court in January to be sentenced. He was Ohtani’s longtime interpreter and also acted as his financial person when Ohtani moved to the United States in 2018.
Mizuhara placed an average of about 25 bets a day from December 2021 to January 2024, with an average bet of $12,800, prosecutors said. In total, he lost about $40.7 million. With access to Ohtani’s bank accounts, Mizuhara stole millions to try to pay off this debt. The Dodgers fired Mizuhara earlier this year and . He cooperated with investigators and insisted he never bet on any sports and did not know Mizuhara was stealing from him.
early this fall. award in the postseason as well, despite never stepping on the field while recovering from elbow surgery he underwent at the end of his time with the Los Angeles Angels. As the Dodgers’ full-time DH, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. Ohtani is expected to take the mound again next season.