DUBLIN, Ga. — A Dublin man will spend the next three years in prison for wire fraud after he lied to get a COVID relief loan that he spent on a Pokémon card.
According to a news release, 31-year-old Vinath Oudomsine was also fined $10,000, ordered to pay restitution of $85,000, and will have three years of supervised release after his prison term.
As previously reported, Oudomsine applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) for an entertainment services business in Dublin with 10 employees and a gross revenue of $235,000.
He received $85,000 in his account in August. He used nearly $58,000 of it on a single Pokémon card -- Charizard, which he had to forfeit.
“Congress appropriated funding to assist small businesses struggling through the challenges of a global pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney David Estes. “Like moths to the flame, fraudsters like Oudomsine took advantage of these programs to line their own pockets – and with our law enforcement partners, we are holding him and others accountable for their greed.”
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721.
