American Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Buying Rare Pok?mon Cards with COVID-19 Loan Funds

Federal Court Sentences Man in His 30s to 3 Years in Prison

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] A man in his 30s who exploited the U.S. government's COVID-19 emergency loan program for small businesses by fraudulently obtaining loan funds and then spent a large amount of money to purchase rare Pok?mon cards has been sentenced to prison. The cards were confiscated.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia announced on the 8th (local time) that a federal court sentenced Vinas Odomsin, 31 years old this year, to three years in prison on charges of financial fraud.

According to the indictment, this man applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the Small Business Administration (SBA) in July 2020 and received $85,000 (approximately 100 million KRW), of which $57,789 was used to purchase rare Pok?mon cards. The purchased Pok?mon cards are trading cards featuring cartoon characters, and rare cards are traded at high prices among collectors.

He falsely declared on the loan application that he employed 10 workers and had an annual revenue of $235,000. This loan program, established as part of the "stimulus package" by the U.S. Congress, is intended to support small businesses struggling due to COVID-19.

Odomsin was sentenced to three years in prison, three years of probation, a $10,000 fine, and ordered to repay $85,000. The court also confiscated the rare Pok?mon cards he purchased.

According to the Department of Justice, during the year 2020 when the COVID-19 emergency loan program was implemented, there were over 70 cases of fraudulent loans, and more than 100 people were caught, prosecuted, or sentenced.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.