(4 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Los Angeles – 4 June 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Estrada, US Attorney:
"As you saw earlier this morning, the defendant in this case, Mr. Mizuhara, went before a judge and admitted his guilt in this case. As we told all of you a couple of months ago, this case was thoroughly investigated, thoroughly vetted and we came to the conclusion, based on the evidence that Mr. Mizuhara had committed a massive fraud and that fraud was committed against the one victim in this case who is Shohei Ohtani. In fact, after we announced the charges, we only discovered more fraud in this case. We discovered Mr. Mizuhara had victimized Mr. Ohtani to the extent that he wouldn’t even pay for dental fees. He stole money from Mr. Ohtani to pay for his own dental expenses. The fraud was deep and the fraud was extensive. Well, now you’ve seen Mr. Mizuhara is gone before a federal judge. He stated under oath that he was fully responsible for this fraud. He’s accepted his responsibility. He’s admitted to his guilt and we will proceed to sentencing in this case and finally bring vindication to the victim, but also the larger community that demands we address these types of fraud cases aggressively and with justice in mind."
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2. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Estrada, US Attorney:
"We have not decided what we will seek at sentencing. We will provide information to the court. As many of you know, the court is ultimately responsible for the sentence in this case. But we will provide full information to the court so it can make a recent decision."
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3. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Estrada, US Attorney:
"30 years in theory, based on what he’s pled to. However, I will note that we are guided by what is known as the sentencing guidelines and those guidelines may call for a lesser sentence. That being said, based on the extent of the conduct here, the sentence would likely be one that calls for incarceration."
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Estrada, US Attorney:
"I think there is a major message from this case. But I wouldn’t limited to Major League Baseball players. I would extend it to our entire community. Fraud of this sort. Fraud by people who have the confidence of others is rampant in our community in our nation. We see elder abuse all the time in similar situations. We see all kinds of people being abused by lawyers, people who have their trust and confidence, and everyone needs to be aware. They should be suspicious. They should take precautions when they have others managing their money and managing their affairs."
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5. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Estrada, US Attorney:
"I can’t comment on what MLB will do, but I will say because of this rampant fraud, my office has established something known as the Vulnerable Victims Task Force that is tasked with looking at fraud against older adults, against immigrant groups. I will say Mr. Ohtani is an immigrant, came to this country, is not familiar with the ways of this country, and therefore was easily prey to someone who is more familiar with our financial systems. He was able to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani."
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6. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Estrada, US Attorney:
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7. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Estrada, US Attorney:
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STORYLINE:
There was no evidence Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara’s gambling, and the player cooperated with investigators, authorities said.
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