Man Gets 3 Years in Prison for Buying Pokemon Card With COVID Relief Funds
A Georgia man who used an illegally obtained COVID-19 disaster relief loan to buy a collectible Pokemon card has been sentenced to prison.
Vinath Oudomsine of Dublin, Ga., received 36 months in prison and three years of supervised release after that, after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud. US District Court Judge Dudley Bowen also fined the 31-year-old $10,000 and ordered him to pay restitution of $85,000.
"COVID-19 disaster relief loans are issued by the government to help businesses struggling to survive during a pandemic, not to use for trivial collectible items," Philip Wislar, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a statement. "This sentence highlights the FBI's commitment to aggressively pursue anyone who would abuse taxpayer dollars and divert them from citizens who separately need them."
In July 2020, Oudomsine reportedly applied to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) for an "entertainment services" business he claimed had 10 employees and gross revenues of $235,000 in the 12 months before COVID struck.
The SBA in August deposited $85,000 into Oudomsine's bank account; he later spent $57,789 to purchase a Charizard Pokemon card, which was eventually forfeited as part of the prosecution.
"Congress appropriated funding to assist small businesses struggling through the challenges of a global pandemic," according to David Estes, US Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. "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."
This isn't the first time Pokemon has led someone astray:
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