A 34-year-old Iowa resident, Mitch William Gross of Earling, is facing a four-month term in a federal correctional facility. The sentence stems from his unlawful acquisition of approximately $145,000 worth of Pokémon cards and related gaming merchandise, obtained through fraudulent means from his employer, a logistics firm.
The story is a familiar one. An individual employed by a transportation company allegedly misused company-issued credit cards, spending considerable sums on Pokémon collectibles. To conceal these purchases, the individual is accused of altering expense reports, disguising the transactions as legitimate business expenditures. Subsequently, the FBI intervened, leading to charges of wire fraud.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa (as reported by KTIV), Mitch William Gross accumulated $146,590.15 in unauthorized purchases. These funds were reportedly used for “prepaid gift cards, Pokémon cards, and gaming items.” He is also alleged to have “submitted falsified receipts and mischaracterized fraudulent charges on his expense reports so that the purchases appeared as legitimate business expenses.”
Following an investigation conducted by the FBI in collaboration with the Des Moines Police Department, Gross has been mandated to reimburse the entire sum obtained through these illicit transactions. In addition to the prison sentence, he will also be subject to three years of supervised release following his incarceration. Official documentation confirms, “There is no parole in the federal system.”
As frequently happens in these situations, details regarding the specific Pokémon cards acquired remain undisclosed. It is unclear whether the purchases consisted of a single high-value card, such as a rare Charizard, or a diverse collection of booster boxes. The alleged offenses occurred between September 2021 and October 2022, a period when Pokémon card availability was less restricted compared to more recent times.
Gross entered a guilty plea in April and received his sentence in the past few days. If he retained possession of the Pokémon cards, their current market value could potentially be significantly higher than the original purchase price.