Ippei Mizuhara (39), the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani (29), has, as expected, taken full and thorough advantage of the American justice system to reduce his sentence.
Mizuhara pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud (bank fraud) and filing false tax returns at his arraignment in Los Angeles federal district court on Friday, but it is widely believed that this is a procedural step and that he will soon plead guilty.
Mizuhara had already signed a plea agreement with prosecutors on Sept. 9 in which he pleaded guilty to most of the charges. According to the prosecution, Mizuhara has been relatively forthright and cooperative throughout the investigation. The prosecution’s position is that if Mizuhara takes responsibility for his misdeeds in court, they will recommend a reduced sentence to the court.
However, it is believed that the plea of not guilty was made in order to secure the most favorable plea bargain possible.
The admission lasted just five minutes.
Mizuhara, who appeared in a suit without a tie, responded to the judge’s question, “Do you accept the allegations in the prosecution’s indictment,” by saying, “No, I do not. I plead not guilty,” he replied.
Normally, this would have meant, “The prosecution is wrong. I will prove my innocence through the trial.” The court then set the trial date for July 4 and the preliminary hearing for June 14. A judge has also been assigned.
However, the general consensus is that the trial will not take place. If a final plea agreement is reached before then, the indictment will likely be handed down without any courtroom battles, meaning that today’s “not guilty plea” is a way to prepare for any contingencies. 스포츠토토 Mizuhara and his defense attorney did not respond to any questions from the press today.
“Otani $17 million, IRS $1 million… I will do my best to make restitution”
The statutory sentences range from up to 30 years in prison for wire fraud involving more than $17 million (about 23.2 billion won) and up to three years in prison for filing false tax returns worth more than $1 million. But plea bargains allow prosecutors to seek much lower sentences, and the actual verdict could be even lower. The final verdict in the first trial is expected to take several months or longer.
During the course of the investigation,
Ohtani appeared before prosecutors twice as a witness, where he cooperated fully, including handing over his cell phone and tablet device. As a result, the prosecution concluded that Ohtani was a “victim” with no evidence of his knowledge of or involvement in Mizuhara’s illegal gambling and debt collection.
Mizuhara’s plea agreement with prosecutors states that he will diligently repay the $17 million he siphoned from Ohtani’s bank account and the $1.15 million in unpaid taxes he owes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for filing false returns. Upon completion of his sentence, he will be subject to deportation upon his release from prison.
The admission was unusually closed to the public, and journalists were not allowed to attend. The Associated Press filed a letter of protest, calling it a “violation of press freedom,” which was signed by 46 of the 48 journalists present. The judge who issued the gag order apologized, saying he had “no choice due to security concerns.”