Kansas police officer discharged as Pokemon card fraud caught at self-checkout

A Kansas Sheriff’s deputy has been discharged after he attempted to fraudulently purchase $400 worth of Pokemon cards by switching barcode labels with ones from cheaper items.

Over the last few years, Pokemon card crimes have gone through the roof — and it doesn’t appear that they’re going to stop anytime soon.

Thieves have gone as far as tying up store owners to leading police on a high-speed chase through Ohio.

The most recent theft incident involves former Kansas Sherriff’s deputy William Knight, who lost his ability to serve as a police officer after attempting to scam a store out of $400 worth of product.

Former Sherriff’s Deputy accused of Pokemon card fraud

In a report from the Kansas City Star, they shared the disciplinary filing that removed Knight’s ability to serve as a police officer.

It states in the filing that the officer was wearing his uniform while in a retail store when he “aroused the suspicions” of an Asset Protections Investigator, who interrupted the transaction and confronted Knight.

Nervous, the officer stated that he had to leave due to a “call” and left the store. However, he was identified later that day and was arrested.

The former sheriff’s Deputy admitted to investigators that he had taken the barcodes off of cheaper products he had at home and placed them on expensive products before scanning them at self-checkout.

As of August 2022, Knight was charged with one count of “unlawful acts involving theft detection shielding device,’ and entered a diversion agreement that prevents him from serving the public as a police officer.

At the time of writing, William Knight had left the department and had moved on to another career.