The US Government Now Owns A Pokemon Card Worth $57,000

A Georgia man has been convicted of wire fraud and sentenced to three years in federal prison after fraudulently applying for a COVID-19 relief loan, then using a good part of that money to buy a $57,000 Pokemon card. The valuable Charizard card has now been forfeited to the government as part of the prosecution.

Vinath Oudomsine plead guilty to one count of wire fraud on March 7. As well as the prison time, Oudomsine will have to pay $85,000 in restitution, as well as a $10,000 fine, and will have three years of supervised release after his prison term.

Oudomsine initially applied for a small business COVID relief loan around July 2020, claiming to run an entertainment services business with 10 employees and a turnover of $235,000 in the previous 12 months. He was granted a loan of $85,000 in August 2020, and later spent $57,000 of it on a Charizard trading card.

Charizard cards dating back to the earliest days of the Pokemon TCG are known to be particularly valuable. Back in 2020, rapper Logic spent over $220,000 on a first-edition Charizard card, while a valuer who featured on Logan Paul's Pokemon card unboxing stream said certain holographic Charizard cards could go for as much as $750,000 at auction.

"COVID-19 disaster relief loans are issued by the government to help businesses struggling to survive during a pandemic, not to use for trivial collectible items," said FBI Atlanta agent Philip Wislar.