Shwetha Surendran is writer in ESPN’s investigative and enterprise unit.
Ippei Mizuhara’s alleged theft of at least $16 million from his former employer, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, shocked the sports world, but the story of a celebrity getting fleeced by a member of his inner circle is a tale as old as time.
From Billy Joel to Alanis Morissette to athletes including Dennis Rodman and Mark Sanchez, there’s a long list of celebrities and athletes who lost effective control of their assets and found themselves victimized by people they once trusted.
According to a 2021 report from global accounting and consulting firm EY, professional athletes alleged they lost nearly $600 million due to fraud from 2004 through 2019. The research also showed that fraud was growing as athletes’ income from endorsements and salaries also rose.
“You also have a group that’s very young, with high earnings, which is very unique, and they’re very focused on their careers. And so, they ultimately trust,” said Chase Carlson, a Florida attorney who specializes in representing professional athletes and entertainers who are victims of investment fraud or mismanagement. “They have to choose somebody to trust. And unfortunately, people take advantage of that trust.”
Mizuhara was well known for being Ohtani’s interpreter, working closely with him during Ohtani’s six years in the major leagues. But Mizuhara’s relationship with Ohtani stretched well beyond the clubhouse and included responsibilities such as driving him around, handling his daily tasks and managing certain business and personal matters outside of baseball. Federal authorities said Mizuhara was Ohtani’s “de facto manager and assistant.”
According to an affidavit filed by federal authorities last week, Mizuhara stole millions of dollars from an account he helped Ohtani open in 2018. Mizuhara allegedly used the money to cover gambling debts he amassed with an illegal bookmaking operation in southern California.
Ohtani said he never gave Mizuhara control of his accounts, but Mizuhara allegedly told Ohtani’s other advisers and accountants — none of whom speak Japanese — that Ohtani had denied them access to the account, according to the affidavit. Federal authorities also allege that Mizuhara falsely identified himself as Ohtani to “trick and deceive” bank employees into authorizing wire transfers to the illegal bookmaking operation.
“You have those financial advisers and business managers that have been bad actors,” said Anthony Smalls, the head of entertainment, sports and media for MGO, a global accounting firm. “But for the most part, we find that it’s their trusted friends [and] family members that are most often discovered as the folks who can circumvent approval processes.”
Some examples include:
In 1989, Billy Joel sued his former manager Frank Weber — who was also his ex-wife’s brother and his oldest daughter’s godfather — for $90 million, claiming fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, among other allegations. Joel eventually settled out of court after Weber declared bankruptcy.
In 2017, the former business manager for Alanis Morissette was sentenced to six years in federal prison after he withdrew $4.8 million from the Canadian entertainer’s account without her knowledge. The manager, Jonathan Schwartz, also embezzled nearly $2 million from two other clients, prosecutors said.
Peggy Ann Fulford duped NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, former NFL player Ricky Williams and other athletes out of millions of dollars by falsely claiming that she was a Harvard-educated financial adviser. In 2018, she pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $5.8 million in restitution to her victims. Fulford was released early from her sentence in 2023.
Federal authorities charged a former Morgan Stanley adviser, Darryl Cohen, with three different counts of fraud in 2023 after he allegedly defrauded NBA players Jrue Holiday, Chandler Parsons and Courtney Lee out of $5 million. Each of the two counts of wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, and the count of investment adviser fraud has a maximum five-year sentence. In a statement to ESPN, an attorney representing Cohen said, “Mr. Cohen has pleaded not guilty and continues to vigorously fight these allegations. Trial is scheduled for February.”
Former San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan accused a former financial adviser of scamming him out of more than $20 million. In 2018, a judge ordered Charles Banks IV to pay $7.5 million in restitution.
Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Jake Peavy, former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez and other athletes were cheated out of more than $30 million by Ash Narayan, an investment adviser who “secretly [siphoned]” money from their accounts using forged or unauthorized signatures, federal authorities said in 2016. Narayan pleaded guilty in 2019 to wire fraud and subscribing to a false tax return, was sentenced to over three years in federal prison and ordered to pay $18.8 million in restitution.
Smalls said that many athletes have the tendency to split responsibilities between different members of their team, which creates silos and in turn leads to a lack of transparency in roles. Ideally, the assembled team should be meeting with the athlete or entertainer at regular intervals, ensuring a closed circle that allows for checks and balances, Smalls said.
“Of course anything can happen in any scenario, but the chances of six different disciplines colluding together to cause some kind of bad act is a lot less likely than someone who’s able to operate in their silo with autonomy being able to do it in their area and that area not have a mechanism that touches another area,” he said.
Athena Constantinou, director of international operations at the Sports Financial Literacy Academy, said that most of these incidents boil down to a lack of financial literacy.
“If athletes were financially literate, they would know better than to hand over their finances to anyone,” Constantinou said. “Because, your advisers, they have the role of informing you about your options. But you are the one who is making the final decisions, and you are the one who bears the repercussions.”
Constantinou said that leagues and players associations have a duty to give their players a financial education.
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) requires agents and financial advisers to be registered with the association, meeting a list of educational and work experience, background checks and examinations.
Agents maintain NFLPA certification by paying an annual fee, attending a seminar, obtaining professional liability insurance from an approved carrier, and negotiating at least one player contract within a three-year period. The NFLPA also has regulations and a code of conduct for players’ financial advisers.
The NBPA and MLBPA do not have certification requirements for financial advisers but do have regulations for player agents. The MLBPA also certifies minor league agents, limited certified agents and expert agent advisers.
Zach Miller, a former NFL player who won the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, recalled signing his first contract and relying on his dad’s recommendation of a broker. Miller is now a certified financial planner and private wealth adviser at AWM Capital, a wealth management family office. He said that while mandatory educational sessions might be helpful, engaging players on financial literacy might be hard until they have some experience managing their money.
“It’s no different than your job on the NFL field. You’re either winning your one-on-ones, doing your assignments correctly, doing all those things. You got to do that for your money, too,” Miller said. “You got to know how much you’re paying in taxes. You got to know how much you saved that year. Very few players actually even know how much money they spend each year. It’s the wildest thing.”
Ideally, besides an agent, an athlete should surround themselves with a certified financial planner, a tax certified public accountant, an independent registered investment advisory group and a personal attorney to read through all contracts they sign, said Erik Averill, a former professional baseball player and co-founder of AWM Capital.
But ultimately, the onus falls back on the athlete or celebrity to know their cash flow, he said, and that a lack of knowledge about money leaving an account is “unacceptable.”
“This is your money, and you own everything,” he said. “So, you can hire a lot of people to do a lot of things, but you can never transfer the responsibility for the ultimate result of your finances and your withholding.”
ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Sometime around mid-August last year, Mookie Betts convened with the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ coaches. He had taken stock of what transpired while he rehabbed a broken wrist, surveyed his team’s roster and accepted what had become plainly obvious: He needed to return to right field.
For the better part of five months, Betts had immersed himself in the painstaking task of learning shortstop in the midst of a major league season. It was a process that humbled him but also invigorated him, one he had desperately wanted to see through. On the day he gave it up, Chris Woodward, at that point an adviser who had intermittently helped guide Betts through the transition, sought him out. He shook Betts’ hand, told him how much he respected his efforts and thanked him for the work.
“Oh, it ain’t over yet,” Betts responded. “For now it’s over, but we’re going to win the World Series, and then I’m coming back.”
Woodward, now the Dodgers’ full-time first-base coach and infield instructor, recalled that conversation from the team’s spring training complex at Camelback Ranch last week and smiled while thinking about how those words had come to fruition. The Dodgers captured a championship last fall, then promptly determined that Betts, the perennial Gold Glove outfielder heading into his age-32 season, would be the every-day shortstop on one of the most talented baseball teams ever assembled.
From November to February, Betts visited high school and collegiate infields throughout the L.A. area on an almost daily basis in an effort to solidify the details of a transition he did not have time to truly prepare for last season.
Pedro Montero, one of the Dodgers’ video coordinators, placed an iPad onto a tripod and aimed its camera in Betts’ direction while he repeatedly pelted baseballs into the ground with a fungo bat, then sent Woodward the clips to review from his home in Arizona. The three spoke almost daily.
By the time Betts arrived in spring training, Woodward noticed a “night and day” difference from one year to the next. But he still acknowledges the difficulty of what Betts is undertaking, and he noted that meaningful games will ultimately serve as the truest arbiter.
The Dodgers have praised Betts for an act they described as unselfish, one that paved the way for both Teoscar Hernandez and Michael Conforto to join their corner outfield and thus strengthen their lineup. Betts himself has said his move to shortstop is a function of doing “what I feel like is best for the team.” But it’s also clear that shouldering that burden — and all the second-guessing and scrutiny that will accompany it — is something he wants.
He wants to be challenged. He wants to prove everybody wrong. He wants to bolster his legacy.
“Mookie wants to be the best player in baseball, and I don’t see why he wouldn’t want that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think if you play shortstop, with his bat, that gives him a better chance.”
ONLY 21 PLAYERS since 1900 have registered 100 career games in right field and 100 career games at shortstop, according to ESPN Research. It’s a list compiled mostly of lifelong utility men. The only one among them who came close to following Betts’ path might have been Tony Womack, an every-day right fielder in his age-29 season and an every-day shortstop in the three years that followed. But Womack had logged plenty of professional shortstop experience before then.
Through his first 12 years in professional baseball, Betts accumulated just 13 starts at shortstop, all of them in rookie ball and Low-A from 2011 to 2012. His path — as a no-doubt Hall of Famer and nine-time Gold Glove right fielder who will switch to possibly the sport’s most demanding position in his 30s — is largely without precedent. And yet the overwhelming sense around the Dodgers is that if anyone can pull it off, it’s him.
“Mookie’s different,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “I think this kind of challenge is really fun for him. I think he just really enjoys it. He’s had to put in a lot of hard work — a lot of work that people haven’t seen — but I just think he’s such a different guy when it comes to the challenge of it that he’s really enjoying it. When you look at how he approaches it, he’s having so much fun trying to get as good as he can be. There’s not really any question in anyone’s mind here that he’s going to be a very good defensive shortstop.”
Betts entered the 2024 season as the primary second baseman, a position to which he had long sought a return, but transitioned to shortstop on March 8, 12 days before the Dodgers would open their season from South Korea, after throwing issues began to plague Gavin Lux. Almost every day for the next three months, Betts put himself through a rigorous pregame routine alongside teammate Miguel Rojas and third-base coach Dino Ebel in an effort to survive at the position.
The metrics were unfavorable, scouts were generally unimpressed and traditional statistics painted an unflattering picture — all of which was to be expected. Simply put, Betts did not have the reps. He hadn’t spent significant time at shortstop since he was a teenager at Overton High School in Nashville, Tennessee. He was attempting to cram years of experience through every level of professional baseball into the space allotted to him before each game, a task that proved impossible.
Betts committed nine errors during his time at shortstop, eight of them the result of errant throws. He often lacked the proper footwork to put himself in the best position to throw accurately across the diamond, but the Dodgers were impressed by how quickly he seemed to grasp other aspects of the position that seemed more difficult for others — pre-pitch timing, range, completion of difficult plays.
Shortly after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees to win their first full-season championship since 1988, Betts sat down with Dodgers coaches and executives and expressed his belief that, if given the proper time, he would figure it out. And so it was.
“If Mook really wants to do something, he’s going to do everything he can to be an elite, elite shortstop,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said. “I’m not going to bet against that guy.”
THE FIRST TASK was determining what type of shortstop Betts would be. Woodward consulted with Ryan Goins, the current Los Angeles Angels infield coach who is one of Betts’ best friends. The two agreed that he should play “downhill,” attacking the baseball, making more one-handed plays and throwing largely on the run, a style that fit better for a transitioning outfielder.
During a prior stint on the Dodgers’ coaching staff, Woodward — the former Texas Rangers manager who rejoined the Dodgers staff after Los Angeles’ previous first-base coach, Clayton McCullough, became the Miami Marlins‘ manager in the offseason — implemented the same style with Corey Seager, who was widely deemed too tall to remain a shortstop.
“He doesn’t love the old-school, right-left, two-hands, make-sure-you-get-in-front-of-the-ball type of thing,” Woodward said of Betts. “It doesn’t make sense to him. And I don’t coach that way. I want them to be athletic, like the best athlete they can possibly be, so that way they can use their lower half, get into their legs, get proper direction through the baseball to line to first. And that’s what Mookie’s really good at.”
Dodger Stadium underwent a major renovation of its clubhouse space over the offseason, making the field unusable and turning Montero and Betts into nomads. From the second week of November through the first week of February, the two trained at Crespi Carmelite High School near Betts’ home in Encino, California, then Sierra Canyon, Los Angeles Valley College and, finally, Loyola High.
For a handful of days around New Year’s, Betts flew to Austin, Texas, to get tutelage from Troy Tulowitzki, the five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner whose mechanics Betts was drawn to. In early January, when wildfires spread through the L.A. area, Betts flew to Glendale, Arizona, to train with Woodward in person.
Mostly, though, it was Montero as the eyes and ears on the ground and Woodward as the adviser from afar. Their sessions normally lasted about two hours in the morning, evolving from three days a week to five and continually ramping up in intensity. The goal for the first two months was to hone the footwork skills required to make a variety of different throws, but also to give Betts plenty of reps on every ground ball imaginable.
When January came, Betts began to carve out a detailed, efficient routine that would keep him from overworking when the games began. It accounted for every situation, included backup scenarios for uncontrollable events — when it rained, when there wasn’t enough time, when pregame batting practice stretched too long — and was designed to help Betts hold up. What was once hundreds of ground balls was pared down to somewhere in the neighborhood of 35, but everything was accounted for.
LAST YEAR, BETTS’ throws were especially difficult for Freddie Freeman to catch at first base, often cutting or sailing or darting. But when Freeman joined Betts in spring training, he noticed crisp throws that consistently arrived with backspin and almost always hit the designated target. Betts was doing a better job of getting his legs under him on batted balls hit in a multitude of directions. Also, Rojas said, he “found his slot.”
“Technically, talking about playing shortstop, finding your slot is very important because you’re throwing the ball from a different position than when you throw it from right field,” Rojas explained. “You’re not throwing the ball from way over the top or on the bottom. So he’s finding a slot that is going to work for him. He’s understanding now that you need a slot to throw the ball to first base, you need a slot to throw the ball to second base, you need a slot to throw the ball home and from the side.”
Dodgers super-utility player Enrique Hernandez has noticed a “more loose” Betts at shortstop this spring. Roberts said Betts is “two grades better” than he was last year, before a sprained left wrist placed him on the injured list on June 17 and prematurely ended his first attempt. Before reporting to spring training, Betts described himself as “a completely new person over there.”
“But we’ll see,” he added.
The games will be the real test. At that point, Woodward said, it’ll largely come down to trusting the work he has put in over the past four months. Betts is famously hard on himself, and so Woodward has made it a point to remind him that, as long as his process is sound, imperfection is acceptable.
“This is dirt,” Woodward will often tell him. “This isn’t perfect.”
The Dodgers certainly don’t need Betts to be their shortstop. If it doesn’t work out, he can easily slide back to second base. Rojas, the superior defender whose offensive production prompted Betts’ return to right field last season, can fill in on at least a part-time basis. So can Tommy Edman, who at this point will probably split his time between center field and second base, and so might Hyeseong Kim, the 26-year-old middle infielder who was signed out of South Korea this offseason.
But it’s clear Betts wants to give it another shot.
As Roberts acknowledged, “He certainly felt he had unfinished business.”
Roberts said he had spoken with Miller, who was still in concussion protocol after getting struck by a 105.5 mph liner hit by Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch in the first game of spring training Thursday.
The manager said Miller indicated that there was no fracture or any significant bruising.
“He said in his words, ‘I have a hard head.’ He was certainly in good spirits,” Roberts said.
Miller immediately fell to the ground while holding his head, but quickly got up on his knees as medical staff rushed onto the field. The 25-year-old right-hander was able to walk off the field on his own.
“He feels very confident that he can kind of pick up his throwing program soon,” said Roberts, who was unsure of that timing. “But he’s just got to keep going through the concussion protocol just to make sure that we stay on the right track.”
Miller entered spring training in the mix for a spot in the starting rotation. He had a 2-4 record with an 8.52 ERA over 13 starts last season, after going 11-4 with a 3.76 in 22 starts as a rookie in 2023.
PHOENIX — Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Blake Perkins is expected to miss the first month of the season after fracturing his right shin during batting practice.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy revealed the severity of Perkins’ injury before their Cactus League opener Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds.
“They’re estimating another three to four weeks to heal and a ramp-up of four to six weeks,” Murphy said. “So you’re probably looking at May.”
Perkins, 28, batted .240 with a .316 on-base percentage, six homers, 43 RBIs and 23 steals in 121 games last season. He also was a National League Gold Glove finalist at center field.
“Perkins is a big part of our team,” Murphy said. “The chemistry of the team, the whole thing, Perk’s huge. He’s one of the most loved guys on the club, and he’s a great defender, coming into his own as an offensive player. Yeah, it’s going to hurt us.”
Murphy also said right-handed pitcher J.B. Bukauskas has what appears to be a serious lat injury and is debating whether to undergo surgery. Bukauskas had a 1.50 ERA in six relief appearances last year but missed much of the season with a lat issue.