There are some collectors out there who will go to great, even desperate lengths to acquire missing pieces of their collections.
Perhaps none more so than a man in Dublin, Georgia who was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison after applying for a fraudulent pandemic relief loan.
And what did he use the majority of the money he was given on?
A Pokémon card.
NBC affiliate WSAV 3 reported on the story.
31-year-old Vinath Oudomsine applied for a loan from the Small Business Administration claiming it was for an "entertainment services" business according to state prosecutors and was given $85 thousand.
Oudomsine claimed his business had 10 employees and took in $235 thousand in gross revenue in the year preceding the pandemic.
However, it was later discovered Oudomsine spent $57,789 of those funds to buy a Charizard card to add to his Pokémon collection.
News of Oudomsine's story was met with a wide array of reactions on Twitter.
Some wondered if he would be allowed to play Pokémon while in prison.
Gotta\u2019 catch \u2018em all! \nGeorgia man Vinath Oudomsine gets 3 years in prison for spending nearly $60,000 in COVID-19 relief money on a Pok\u00e9mon card! #PPPFraudhttps://theweek.com/news/1011046/georgia-man-gets-3-years-in-prison-for-spending-nearly-60000-in-covid-19-relief-money\u00a0\u2026— TheCyberChick (@TheCyberChick) 1646779973
Did the judge prohibit Vinath Oudomsine from playing Pok\u00e9mon behind bars?\n\nAfter all, that expensive rare Charizard card would give him such an unfair advantage.— Satiricus Rex (@Satiricus Rex) 1646777613
From the Last Laugh Department:\n\n"Vinath Oudomsine *sold* the rare Charizard card for $170,000, paying off his restitution and fine with plenty to spare.\n\n"Said Oudomsine, 'All day long, baby!!! All day long!'"— Matthew Weymar (@Matthew Weymar) 1646775289
I know pokemon cards are rare af in certain cases but good lord why would you waste relief money to buy a 3 by 4 of cardboard— Immortal Koopah (@Immortal Koopah) 1646722031
He tried to catch them all but in the end he was the one who got caught.— RingoWoo (@RingoWoo) 1646757502
Vinath Oudomsine paid $85K for a card that sells for $6500 new on Ebay. Vinnie is not only a criminal, but also a dumb criminal. https://twitter.com/NotHoodlum/status/1501291468484395011\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/At4ORxEdNY— Positively 4Th Street (@Positively 4Th Street) 1646776689
While others condemned Oudomsine for using pandemic relief for such a frivolous purchase when there were small businesses who genuinely needed it to stay afloat.
People have been struggling for the last 2 years- they\u2019ve lost their jobs, their homes, they haven\u2019t had food to eat & this numbnuts spent almost $58k from his Covid Relief Fund on a f\u2019cking Pokemon card! Unbelievable!— Gretchen\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Gretchen\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1646779336
He got what he deserved.— iam16bit (@iam16bit) 1646688297
That's insane. Glad he's caught and convicted.pic.twitter.com/1RUHrYcNdI— Joan Hussey (@Joan Hussey) 1646770873
Every penny of these collected fines should be given to business owners who had to close their doors because they didn't have privileged banking relationships that would get them to the head of the line.— 9Gen (@9Gen) 1646774109
In addition to his prison sentence, Oudomsine was also ordered to pay restitution of $85,000, as well as a fine of $10 thousand.
He was also given three years supervised release after his prison term.
But perhaps the most painful blow of all, to Oudomsine anyway, was he had to forfeit the Charizard card.
U.S. Attorney David H. Estes released a statement regarding Oudomsine's arrest.
"Congress appropriated funding to assist small businesses struggling through the challenges of a global pandemic."
"Like moths to the flame, fraudsters like Oudomsine took advantage of these programs to line their own pockets — and with our law enforcement partners, we are holding him and others accountable for their greed."
Though usually done more ethically, forking over high sums of money for rare Pokémon cards is not an uncommon occurrence.
According to The Washington Post, a first edition box set of Pokémon trading cards was reportedly sold for $400 thousand.
YouTubuer Logan Paul reportedly paid $150 thousand for a Charizard card.
And rapper Logic reportedly won a first edition Charizard card at an auction with a bid of $220 thousand.
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC