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The federal government is moving to confiscate a collection of valuable baseball cards belonging to Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter and confidant of Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani, who pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $17 million from the baseball phenom.

In a court filing submitted on Monday, a month ahead of Mizuhara’s sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, prosecutors requested permission to seize the cards, as well as boxes, card-wrapping devices, and plastic protectors used to store them.

According to Mizuhara's plea agreement, he used more than $325,000 from Ohtani’s personal account between January and March of 2024 to purchase baseball cards from platforms like eBay and Whatnot. Among the collection are cards featuring baseball legends Yogi Berra, Juan Soto, and even Ohtani himself.

The plea deal, which Mizuhara agreed to in May, includes a provision for the forfeiture of these cards as part of his sentence. Mizuhara also consented to surrender other sports memorabilia and collectibles acquired with Ohtani’s funds.

Mizuhara, who served as Ohtani’s interpreter, manager, and close friend since the Japanese star’s arrival in California in 2018, admitted to siphoning millions from Ohtani’s bank accounts to fuel his gambling habit and to purchase high-value collectibles. In June, Mizuhara pleaded guilty to charges of bank and tax fraud.

The sentencing hearing for Mizuhara, 39, is set for October 25, 2024. If convicted, the government is expected to reclaim the stolen assets, including Mizuhara's baseball card collection, to help recover Ohtani’s stolen funds.

The case is United States v. Mizuhara, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 8:24-cr-00054-JWH, filed 9/16/2.