The pandemic has severely impacted the economies of many countries and the world as a whole. This is also the reason why, in many places, relief packages for businesses have been issued by the government in an effort to help companies overcome financial difficulties. However, this money is not always used for its intended purpose, especially when placed in the hands of unscrupulous directors like the main character in the story below.
Specifically, just recently, the online community was stirred up after a Georgia court in the U.S. announced a lawsuit involving a man named Vinath Oudomsine, who is accused of borrowing a portion of the economic recovery relief funds for his company last year. Accordingly, Vinath filed a report claiming that his company had 10 employees, and their annual revenue had reached over $235,000 (approximately over 5 billion VND). However, the pandemic had significantly affected them and led to considerable losses.
Subsequently, he successfully borrowed about $85,000 (nearly 2 billion VND). However, instead of supporting and helping the company recover, Vinath used most of that relief money to buy rare Pokemon cards. Specifically, he spent $57,789, equivalent to nearly 1.5 billion VND, to acquire that Pokemon card collection. The reports do not specify which Pokemon character it was.
Ultimately, local authorities discovered that Vinath not only misused relief funds but also falsified the number of employees and the revenue of his company. Vinath is now facing charges of fraud, with a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison along with a fine of $250,000 (over 5.5 billion VND) – an amount that may be enough to make Vinath feel regret and bitterness just because of his hobby of collecting rare Pokemon cards.