DUBLIN, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man was sentenced to three years in prison after illegally obtaining a coronavirus relief loan and using more than $57,000 of the money to buy a collectable Pokemon card, authorities said Monday.
Vinath Oudomsine (Laurens County Sheriff’s Office)
Vinath Oudomsine of Dublin, Georgia, agreed to forfeit the costly trading card, which featured the Pokemon character Charizard, as part of a plea agreement, acting U.S. Attorney David Estes of the Southern District of Georgia said in a news release.
FILE: Pokemon Center in Sendai, Japan
Oudomsine, 31, pleaded guilty in October to a single count of wire fraud. Prosecutors said in a legal filing that he submitted false information to the U.S. Small Business Administration last year when applying for a COVID-19 relief loan for an “entertainment services” business he claimed to own. They said he lied about how many people he employed as well as his business’ annual revenues.
Oudomsine received $85,000 from the loan program, prosecutors said, and used it to buy a Pokemon trading card for $57,789.