{"id":79893,"date":"2024-05-30T16:08:26","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T16:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/30\/pokemon-card-scammer-sells-fake-graded-cards-for-2-million\/"},"modified":"2024-05-30T16:08:26","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T16:08:26","slug":"pokemon-card-scammer-sells-fake-graded-cards-for-2-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/30\/pokemon-card-scammer-sells-fake-graded-cards-for-2-million\/","title":{"rendered":"Pok\u00e9mon Card Scammer Sells Fake Graded Cards for $2 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Pok\u00e9mon <\/em>cards and crime are intimately intertwined at this point, as the collectible cards are often wrapped up in robberies<\/a><\/span> and scams<\/a><\/span> due to their high resale value. Some of the stories surrounding Pok\u00e9mon <\/em>card sales have reached tragic ends<\/a><\/span>, and the entire subculture of scalping, stealing, and reselling these pieces of cardboard hangs like a cloud over parts of the Pok\u00e9mon <\/em>community<\/a><\/span>. But as a quick way to make money, the whole scheme is pretty appealing, so appealing, in fact, that a seemingly reformed bank robber decided to get in on the grift and scammed people out of millions.<\/p>\n

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New Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet And Violet Trailer Features Hot Profs, 4-Player Co-Op, And Lechonk, The Hero We Deserve<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Anthony Curcio, an infamous bank robber who pulled off an elaborate armored car heist in Washington state in 2008, has spent much of the past decade as an advocate speaking to youth about drug addiction and crime. But it sounds like he\u2019s since made a hard pivot into Pok\u00e9mon <\/em>card scamming. Fox 13 Seattle<\/em><\/a><\/span> <\/em>has a story on the situation (thanks, Nintendo Wire<\/em><\/a><\/span>), which outlines how Curcio, alongside accomplice Iosif Bondarchuk, has been scamming buyers of Pok\u00e9mon <\/em>and sports cards to the tune of $2 million.<\/p>\n

The pair has allegedly been selling falsely graded cards to buyers, from local card shops in Washington to nationwide victims via online sales. One of their alleged fakes, a duplicate of a 1986 Michael Jordan card, was listed for $171,700, which caught the attention of the card grader company Professional Sports Authenticator. Curcio and Bondarchuk could face up to 20 years in prison for their crimes if found guilty.<\/p>\n