Japanese police arrest man for selling 1,000 fake Pokémon cards

There have been literally hundreds of seizures and stings related to counterfeit Pokémon Trading Cards over the last two decades, yet the market continues to thrive. This is due to the incredible amount of money that can be brought in through these shady dealings, and yet another example of that has popped up in Japan.

Police in Annaka City, Japan have arrested a 21-year-old for selling fake Pokémon Trading Cards online. The suspect, Reo Otake, sold four counterfeit Pokémon cards to two customers in October 2022, and he made $1,250 off the deals. Not surprisingly, one of the customers contacted the police about this when they realized the cards might be fake.

Soon after being alerted to the situation, the police worked with Nintendo to confirm that the cards were indeed fakes. When Otake was confronted about the situation, he admitted to knowingly selling counterfeit cards. Police ended up taking roughly 1,000 fake cards from Otake’s home, including 400 in English.