Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for MLB star Shohei Ohtani, has received another postponement of his prison reporting date, giving him at least one more month of freedom.
Originally scheduled to begin his 57-month federal sentence on Monday, Mizuhara has now been granted a second continuance. Court documents show his new surrender deadline is June 16, nearly three months after his initial reporting date of March 24. Mizuhara pleaded guilty last June to bank fraud and filing a false tax return, tied to a scheme in which he embezzled over $17 million from Ohtani.
Between 2021 and 2024, Mizuhara placed more than 19,000 illegal sports bets with California bookmaker Matt Bowyer, wagering over $325 million and accumulating about $40.2 million in losses, according to federal prosecutors.
U.S. District Court Judge John Holcomb had previously allowed Mizuhara to voluntarily surrender within 45 days of sentencing. Last week, Mizuhara appeared in court for a hearing regarding an ex parte application to extend that surrender date once again. The court did not disclose the reasoning behind granting the extension.
On Monday afternoon, Mizuhara was still listed as “not in BOP custody” under federal prison records, according to the Bureau of Prisons (register number: 09459-511).
This marks yet another chapter in the ongoing fallout from one of Major League Baseball’s most stunning financial scandals.
