A resident of the state of Georgia, United States, is charged with tax evasion by the federal government. He is accused of spending most of his state-allocated relief loan for businesses in difficulty due to Covid on something other than what he was intended for: a Pokémon card worth 57,789 dollars, or 49,680 euros.
EIDL is “A federal program small business loans ” enabling them to face the “Economic impacts of the Covid-19 disaster by providing accessible capital for borrowers”. This financial assistance is supposed to be used to cover professional expenses such as payroll, production costs, debts or even rent.
Fraud for a collectible card
Prosecutors said that in July 2020, the man fraudulently applied for EIDL, claiming to have owned a company with ten employees since 2018 and generating $ 235,000 in annual revenue. Prosecutors did not say what kind of business he claimed to own.
As a result of his request for help, the Small Business Association, an independent agency of the US government dedicated to helping, advising, assisting and protecting the interests of small businesses, deposited $ 85,000 into his bank account (approximately 73,000 euros).
In January 2021, the American used that money to buy his Pokémon card – authorities did not say which one it was. He faces twenty years in prison and up to $ 250,000 in fines (over 210,000 euros).
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