Shohei Ohtani, whose star has been shining brightly after a World Series victory and an MVP season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is now embroiled in a legal battle to recover baseball cards worth $325,000. These collectibles were fraudulently purchased by his former interpreter and close confidant, Ippei Mizuhara, who recently pleaded guilty to defrauding Ohtani of almost $17 million.
The Japanese baseball sensation took his case to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, filing a formal request to reclaim the sports cards confiscated from Mizuhara by authorities. The court swiftly granted a hearing on the matter, scheduled for December 20.
Ippei Mizuhara’s misdeeds came to light earlier this year when he confessed to bank and tax fraud, admitting to siphoning off hefty sums from Ohtani’s accounts. Mizuhara’s modus operandi from January to March 2024 involved using Ohtani’s money to buy baseball cards from e-commerce platforms like eBay and Whatnot, with the intention of turning a profit from reselling them. Ohtani maintains that these cards were acquired using his funds and hence rightfully belong to him.
In a surprising twist, Ohtani revealed to the court the discovery of “a quantity of personally signed collectible baseball cards” bearing his image among Mizuhara’s belongings, erroneously seized along with the rest. Ohtani is now pushing for the return of these special collectibles as part of his legal plea.
The seized items, as outlined in court documents, include a variety of collectible sports cards stashed in silver and black Panoply cases, gray Panoply cases, an additional box of similar cards, a card wrapping device, and plastic card protector holders.
Mizuhara’s unethical actions, involving unauthorized access to Ohtani’s financial accounts, led to his dismissal from his position by the Dodgers in March once the extent of his deceit emerged. Although Mizuhara was initially slated for sentencing on October 25, with a subsequent delay to December 20, the sentencing date has now been moved once more to January 24.
The upcoming hearing on December 20 will be pivotal in determining whether Shohei Ohtani can successfully reclaim ownership of the confiscated sports cards. It signifies another crucial chapter in the repercussions of Mizuhara’s betrayal of the trust placed in him by one of baseball’s brightest stars.
