• Feds seek nearly five-year sentence for Mizuhara
• Ex-interpreter is due to be sentenced on 6 February

A nearly four-minute audio recording allegedly captured Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara impersonating the baseball star on a call with a bank as he attempted to transfer $200,000 for what he describes as a car loan, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

The recording referenced in a court filing and obtained by the Associated Press is being used to back up prosecutors’ push for a nearly five-year sentence for Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing almost $17m from the Los Angeles Dodgers star.