A man has been charged with wire fraud, and if convicted, he could face a sentence of up to 20 years in jail. Federal authorities have accused Vinath Oudomsine of illegally filing for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan in Dublin, Georgia (EIDL). The man claimed to be a business owner, but he allegedly spent most of the money on a rare Pokémon card.

According to The Telegraph, police accuse Oudomsine of applying for the loan last year while claiming to be the owner of a small firm employing ten employees. The loans, which were offered across the country and resulted in the government providing nearly $200 billion to American firms, were intended to aid with "payroll, rent/mortgage, utilities, and other typical business expenses" during the pandemic's deadliest months.

He was awarded $85,000 for his efforts. The trouble was, according to prosecutors, he had no such business and instead spent the majority of the loan—$57,789—on a single Pokémon card. He's now been charged with wire fraud, and if convicted, he could face "up to 20 years in federal prison" as well as a $250,000 fine.

Prosecutors did not reveal the card's exact identity, but that kind of price puts it in elite company: according to our own list from July, this would make it the tenth most expensive Pokémon card purchase of all time, more expensive than the $45,100 spent in December 2020 on Ex Deoxys GOLD STAR HOLO Rayquaza #107.

Perhaps this individual is a lifelong Pokémon fan who spotted an opportunity to obtain the card of his dreams and seized it. Maybe he just read one too many headlines about how "valuable" these cards are and felt he'd join in on the action, considering that he's been charged with wire fraud by federal authorities and we're living in an age where every speculative market is in unsustainable overdrive.