Gamer Goes to Jail After Buying Pokemon Cards with Company Credit Card

An employee who used their company credit cards to pay for things like Pokemon cards and video games is now doing jail time. Unfortunately, it’s just one of the latest instances of Pokemon and crime getting mixed up.

Tons of Pokemon fans are law-abiding citizens, but unfortunately, that doesn’t put a stop to crime getting mixed up with the popular franchise. Pokemon cards have been stolen, stores and warehouses have been broken into, and honest sellers have been attacked when meeting up with their supposed buyers. This is just one more case of such an incident.

Man Goes to Jail For Using Company Credit Card to Buy Pokemon Cards

A man named Mitch William Gross has been sent to federal prison for four months after defrauding his employer for a stunning $140,000. Between 2021 and 2022, Gross reportedly used his company credit card to buy things like Pokemon trading cards, games, and gift cards. He apparently attempted to disguise the purchases as legitimate, but was caught in the act. The FBI investigated the issue, and the 34-year-old was found guilty and sentenced on August 15, 2025. In addition to spending four months in federal prison, for which there is no parole, Gross will also be facing three years of supervised release once he’s out of jail, and has to pay back $146,590.15 to his employer in restitution.

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In most cases of crime involving Pokemon, the criminals in question are trying to steal things like Pokemon cards in order to turn a profit. Pokemon cards and some other collectibles can be extremely valuable, and are nearly untraceable, making it relatively easy to sell them to unsuspecting buyers. It’s gotten to the point that Pokemon retailers have to look out for one another, with multiple shops working together to track down someone who had stolen Pokemon cards and then attempted to sell them to other shops. It’s not clear if Gross was attempting to turn a profit on the cards he purchased, or if he simply wanted to buy the merchandise for himself.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that someone has unscrupulously bought Pokemon cards for themselves like this. In another instance, someone used counterfeit money to purchase Pokemon cards, ultimately stealing over $4,000 worth of Pokemon cards with the fake money. Thankfully, in that instance, the criminal was also caught, and the police were able to return the Pokemon cards to their original, rightful owners.