An Iowa man, Mitch William Gross, has been sentenced to four months in federal prison for committing wire fraud. For over a year, Gross illicitly used company credit cards from his employer, Ruan Transportation Corporation, to fund personal acquisitions. These purchases included items like prepaid gift cards, various gaming products, and notably, Pokemon cards, all falsely declared as legitimate business expenditures.
To hide his illicit activities, Gross submitted fabricated receipts and manipulated expense reports, deliberately misrepresenting the charges. The total value of these fraudulent transactions exceeded $140,000. Beyond his prison sentence, Gross has been mandated to pay over $146,000 in restitution and will undergo three years of supervised release. Consistent with federal regulations, there will be no parole in his case.
This case, which was revealed by U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal and investigated jointly by the FBI and the Des Moines Police Department, highlights a recent rise in financial crimes involving collectible trading cards, especially Pokemon cards. It is one of several similar incidents. Earlier this year in the UK, law enforcement discovered a trove of stolen Pokemon cards valued at over $330,000 during a raid near Manchester. Separately, in New Jersey, a former postal worker admitted to pilfering valuable trading cards and memorabilia from packages destined for an auction.