A Laurens County, Georgia man lied to obtain a COVID-19 disaster relief loan and used that money to buy a collectible Pokémon trading card.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice for the Southern District of Georgia announced the news in a press release this week.
Dublin resident Vinath Oudomsine, 31, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of wire fraud.
“Starting on or around July 2020, Oudomsine applied to the SBA for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) ostensibly for an ‘entertainment services’ business in Dublin with 10 employees and gross revenues of $235,000 in the 12 months preceding the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the press release.
“As a result of fraudulent representations on Oudomsine’s application, the SBA deposited $85,000 into Oudomsine’s bank account on Aug. 4, 2020. Oudomsine later used $57,789 of the funds to purchase a Pokémon trading card.”
Oudomsine’s plea subjects him to a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison and substantial fines. This, followed by up to three years of supervised release after completion of any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system, the press release said.
This is not the first alleged example of COVID-19 fraud in the Peach State. Some reported examples include:
• Federal officials last month indicted a Georgia pastor and tax preparer on charges of COVID-19 recovery assistance fraud.
• In July, a federal grand jury returned a 12-count indictment charging a Georgia resident with bank fraud, money laundering, and making false statements related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
• In June, two other Georgia residents — in separate cases — allegedly committed massive CARES Act fraud.
• An Augusta woman admitted to submitting loan applications containing knowingly false representations in an effort to secure COVID-19 relief loans.
• In March, a Georgia woman admitted to creating a fake business and using it to receive funding from a federal COVID-19 small business relief program.
State officials have also accepted COVID-19 relief money.
Georgia Department of Education (GDOE) officials have developed a dashboard that they said reveals how the state’s school districts use federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced in September that he will spend $5.8 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds — taxpayer money — on the state’s tourism industry.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Pichu Pokémon Card” by Kelly Teague. CC BY-SA 2.0.
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