Trading card games based on popular franchises can make a lot of money. A man from Japan wanted a piece of the money pie and offered fake cards for the TCG of One Piece. However, he was caught.
What did the man do wrong? On an unspecified online sales platform, Mr. Matsuyama sold fake cards for the One Piece trading card game. Similar to other TCGs, individual cards can fetch high prices, which the fraudster likely wanted to benefit from.
However, the police were able to locate the criminal and confiscated a total of 1,500 fake cards from his apartment in Osaka. The investigators are now working to determine the source of the counterfeit cards.
The authorities estimate that the suspect made a profit of 8.68 million yen from selling the cards. That amounts to about 54,400 euros.
The anime is actually getting a remake from the beginning:
Criminal caught the police’s attention
How was he caught? The police investigations began as early as June 2024. At that time, the police discovered the strange advertisements online.
The sales texts on the platform stated that the cards “could not be sold in regular stores.” This statement likely raised the investigators’ suspicions. Furthermore, the cards were offered below the general market price.
The authorities subsequently initiated a thorough investigation and searched for months for the criminal. They only made the significant discovery a few days ago.
Does he regret his actions? The suspect directly confessed that he had committed the crime. At the time of his arrest, he was reportedly proud that he could achieve such a high profit in a short time.
He admitted that he knew the cards were fake. But he thought he was making easy money.
He will probably not respond quite as cheekily when he learns what punishment awaits him. Other criminals, who have engaged in illegal trading with collectible cards, have sometimes ended up in prison. What punishment the man will specifically receive remains to be seen.
In another criminal case, a man wanted to steal collectible cards worth over 1,000 euros. Since he was a repeat offender, a hefty sentence awaited him: A man wants to steal over €1000 worth of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards – He takes too many packs and now faces 20 years in prison
