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At the peak of the pandemic last year, the Pokemon card craze suddenly exploded onto the scene. What followed was a frenzy of people releasing their collections and demand for this particular product followed shortly. While that's all good and great, especially since the card market is soaring to new heights, what this guy did is the line that should have never been crossed in the first place.
A man from Dublin, Georgia is facing up to 20 years in prison after spending more than $57,000 of a COVID support loan on a mystery Pokémon card.https://t.co/MES6Oa4skz pic.twitter.com/NEJrlcQwQ2
— CBR (@CBR) October 26, 2021
In a report by CBR, Vinath Oudomsine, a collector from Dublin, Georgia, has been slapped with a $250,000 fine and could face 20 years in jail for spending $57,789 sourced from a Covid-19 support loan on a Pokemon card. According to court documents, Oudomsine didn't disclose in his application for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) the number of employees working in his company and its gross annual turnover.
For their part, the Small Business Administration granted the said loan amounting to $84,000, which was designed to be used as capital for business-related expenditures or to resolve various expenses, such as rent or utilities. Unfortunately, Oudomsine went a different route by splurging most of the money on a single Pokemon card, which was not revealed to the public.
While the exact Pokemon card wasn't disclosed, this kind of purchase and the value it fetched aren't exactly new for card enthusiasts. Earlier this year, a First Edition Shadowless Charizard Holo card was sold for $300,000 by Heritage Auctions. Even Logan Paul wore a PSA 10 slab of the same card to his match against Floyd Mayweather last June, a move that raised the popularity of trading cards.
Although the hobby is one that should be enjoyed, collectors would do well to remember that there is a line that should never be crossed. Otherwise, they could face a similar fate to what Oudomsine is in right now.
