Georgia man spends COVID loan on $57K rare Pokémon card, says prosecutor

A Georgia man is facing wire fraud charges for allegedly using a COVID-19 government loan to purchase a rare $57,789 Pokémon card. Vinath Oudomsine, a U.S. citizen, was indicted by The Telegraph of Macon (Georgia) on Oct. 19, in federal court in Georgia.

Oudomsine is facing one charge of wire fraud. If convicted, Oudomsine could face up to 20 years imprisonment and up to $250,000 fines. In court papers, Oudomsine claims he sought an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), in 2020. This loan was for funding a business where he had 10 employees.

EIDL loans, part of a huge pandemic relief plan Congress passed last year, were intended to pay a business’ workers and rent, but Oudomsine allegedly used $57,789 of the $85,000 he got to buy a rare Pokémon card.

Which Pokémon card? The federal government didn’t say in the initial court filing.

Oudomsine was not contacted by an attorney. Polygon reached out for further information to U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Georgia.

Either way, there aren’t That many Pokémon cards that command such a high price; this summer, Kotaku rounded up a list of the rarest and most valuable cards. In December 2020, the 10th card, a holographic Rayquaza (or holographic Rayquaza), sold for $45,100. In October 2020, a $60,065 dark Charizard was also sold.

But there are a number of other cards that command that price, too, especially following the Pokémon card boom that flooded card grading services and brought violence to Target. A holographic Charizard card — with the highest rating available — sold for more than $300,000 in 2021, but the market had been heating in the months prior, as influencers began buying up packs of cards to open on stream, hoping to pull rare cards. Some stores also reported shortages and card printing being temporarily stopped during the pandemic.

A first edition shadowless, holographic Charizard card with a 9.5 gem mint rating was sold for $57,789 — exactly the price quoted by the government in this case — at the PWCC Marketplace. Court documents suggest Oudomsine bought his Pokémon card “on or around Jan. 8, 2021.” The PWCC card that sold for $57,789 was bought on Dec. 28, 2020, according to the auction history. On February 27, 2021, a similar card selling for $66,766 with the same rating sold for $66,766.

The Charizard cards of similar rating are still being listed at similar prices, minus a few hundred.