Now the judge will Pika-choose him a prison
A man in the United States has been jailed after using his covid relief loan to buy a Pokémon trading card worth a staggering $57,0000.
Vinath Oudomsine from Dublin, Georgia, has been sentenced to three years after he illegally obtained a covid relief grant.
By submitting false information to the US Small Business Administration last year under the guise of “entertainment services” provided through his fabricated business, Oudomsine received an enormous business grant.
Oudomsine is said to have lied about his number of employees and his business’ annual revenue.
The man was awarded $85,000, $55,789 of which he spent on a “first-edition, shadowless and holographic Charizard card with a 9.5 gem mint rating,” reports Polygon. Oudomsine pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and will face three years in federal prison with no parole.
Oudomsine has also been fined $10k and ordered to pay restitution totalling $85k. He will serve three more years of supervised release once his prison sentence comes full circle.
Philip Wislar, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said: “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.
“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.”
The priceless Charizard is now in possession of the prosecutors.
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