Japanese shop owner arrested for selling fake Pokemon cards
Pixabay/The Pokemon Company A 48-year-old Japanese man has been arrested and 150 cards have been confiscated following the sale of fake Pokemon cards at his store.
Pokemon cards have become quite lucrative in recent years, thanks in large part to influencers like YouTuber Logan Paul jumping on the trend.
With some rare cards selling for thousands of dollars, it’s easy to see why sites such as eBay are now requiring in-house authentication for anything over $750.
However, as it turns out, cards worth just $20 are allegedly being forged and police in Japan aren’t putting up with it.
CBC TVPolice arrest man selling fake Pokemon cards
According to a report by Nintendo Life, Yukinori Harada, the owner of Alive Yokkaichi Tokiwa, was arrested following the 2021 sale of a fake Pokemon card worth $20.
The card wasn’t the only reason for the arrest either. He also had a fake copy of Megaman in his store and admitted to police that he thought it may have been fake when he originally sold it.
Police are trying to determine where the forged cards originally came from, so there could be more to this story than just this shop owner’s arrest.
In a tweet, the shop apologized for any “inconvenience” the arrest may have caused, but the store is remaining open while the investigation continues.
（お客様各位）
いつも当店をご利用いただきありがとうございます。
一連の報道に関してご迷惑をおかけいたしました事
深くお詫び申し上げます。現時点では、捜査中ですので コメントなどは
差し控えさせていただきます。店舗は通常通り営業いたします。
— アライブ四日市ときわ (@alivetokiwa1) February 23, 2022
Pokemon card crimes plague 2022
So far this year, there have been a handful of Pokemon card-related crimes committed and we’re not even two months in.
Back in January, a Florida man was arrested for stealing hundreds of Pokemon cards from Walmart. And earlier in February, a thief smashed into a Minnesota store, stealing $250,000 worth of cards.
It’s crazy to think how people are willing to go to such extremes for Pokemon cards, but with even newer cards in high demand from fans, it’s unlikely this is the last time we’ll hear about crimes such as this.