Feds Accuse Man of Spending $57,000 on Pokemon Cards With Covid Relief Money
The federal government has accused a man from Georgia of spending roughly $57,000 on Pokemon cards. And while this isn't something that on its own is a crime, the reason that the feds are butting in is because the money that the man used to purchase said Pokemon cards was given to him as a loan in the form of Covid-19 relief which was supposed to be used on his business.
The man in question who is under investigation for this situation is that of Vinath Oudomsine. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in the United States, the federal government allowed some business owners to apply for relief for their companies in order to help save their businesses. Oudomsine was one of these people who applied for relief funds and the government ended up giving him $85,000 to help save jobs at his company. Instead, Oudomsine is said to have spent well over half of this on the popular Pokemon collectible.
In new documents that were filed this week, the government found that Oudomsine had applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan loan in July 2020. His company was said to be made up of 10 different people in total with an annual gross revenue of $235,000. However, these company details were said to have been falsified, meaning that Oudomsine was seemingly looking to just quickly put money in his own pocket. When the government sent his money over, Oudomsine is said to have turned around and spent $57,789 on a single Pokemon card. The identity of this card, unfortunately, is unknown.
At this point in time, it's not known exactly what might happen to Oudomsine as a result. Federal officials say that he could face 20 years in prison to go along with $250,000 in fines. He has also been only been charged with a single count wire fraud at this point in time. Oudomsine also hasn't publicly responded to this matter and his lawyers haven't released a statement on his behalf, either.
What do you think of this wild story involving Pokemon cards? Let me know your reaction either down in the comments or over on Twitter at @MooreMan12.
[H/T 13WMAZ]