Another chapter is being written in the Shohei Ohtani-Ippei Mizuhara saga.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star Ohtani has petitioned a federal judge this week for ownership of $325,000 worth of baseball cards that were allegedly purchased fraudulently by his ex-interpreter Mizuhara, Noah Furtado of The Athletic reported Wednesday.
The report adds that Mizuhara bought baseball cards from online retailers eBay and WhatNot between January and March 2024 with the intention of reselling them. The cards were then seized from Mizuhara by authorities in connection with Mizuhara’s fraud case.
Ohtani is alleging that the cards were wrongfully purchased using his money and thus claims that they belong to him. The three-time MVP is also seeking the return of “a quantity of personally signed collectible baseball cards” that were seized from Mizuhara’s possession too. As such, Ohtani is asking for a hearing from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to argue his rightful ownership of the items.
You can read The Athletic’s full report on the situation here.
Mizuhara, Ohtani’s longtime former translator and confidant, pled guilty back in May to bank and tax fraud charges related to his theft of nearly $17 million from Ohtani’s bank account. While the federal investigation revealed that Mizuhara used the funds to pay off an illegal bookie (an operation that also ensnared an ex-Ohtani teammate), Ohtani is alleging that Mizuhara used his money to purchase collectibles as well.
