The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani was sentenced Thursday to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account.

The court also ordered Mizuhara to pay Ohtani $17 million in restitution, the applicable amount listed when Mizuhara struck a May 2024 plea deal with prosecutors, and a fine of more than $1 million to the Internal Revenue Service.

Ohtani signed a record US$700 million, 10-year contract to join the Dodgers last season, becoming the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball. The 30-year-old's talents as a slugger and a pitcher have earned him comparisons to Babe Ruth. REUTERS