Man Who Used COVID-19 Relief Funds to Purchase Rare Pokémon Card Gets 3 Years in Prison

Remember the man who made headlines for using COVID-19 relief funds to purchase a Pokémon card? Well, he will spend the next three years in prison.

Vinath Oudomsine of Dublin, Georgia, was sentenced to 36 months in prison after pleading guilty in October 2021 to one count of Wire Fraud. He admitted to falsifying documents in order to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan that was designated to help businesses impacted by the pandemic. The 31-year-old claimed to have an entertainment service company with ten employees. In the fake docs, he also claimed that the business grossed $235,000 in the year before the pandemic. He was granted $85,000 by the Small Business Administration on August 4th, 2020.

Once the funds hit his account, Oudomsine used $57,789 of the funds to buy a rare “Charizard” Pokémon trading card. As part of his plea, he must forfeit the card. Collectible Pokemon cards have been a hot ticket item in recent years. In December 2020, a 1999 First Edition Shadowless Holographic Charizard #4 card sold for $369,000.

“This sentence highlights the FBI’s commitment to aggressively pursue anyone who would abuse taxpayer dollars and divert them from citizens who desperately need them,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta following Monday’s sentencing.

Oudomsine must also pay a $10,000 fine and $85,000 in restitution. Following his release from prison, he will serve an additional three years of supervised release.