DUBLIN (Ga.) — Authorities Monday announced that a Georgian man was sentenced for three years after illegally obtaining an emergency coronavirus loan and spending more than $57,000 to purchase a collectable Pokemon Card.
Vinath Oudomsine, a Dublin, Georgia resident, has agreed to forfeit the trading card that featured the Pokemon character Charizard. This was part of a plea deal, according to David Estes, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia in a news release.
Oudomsine, 31 , pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in October. In a legal filing, the prosecution stated that Oudomsine submitted false information to U.S. Small Business Administration when he applied for a Covid-19 relief loan to fund an “entertainment service” business. Prosecutors claimed that he misrepresented the number of employees and annual revenue of his business.
Prosecutors said Oudomsine was awarded $85,000 under the loan program and used it for a Pokemon trading card worth $57,789.