Random: Shop Owner Sells Fake $20 Pokémon Card, Gets Arrested For Copyright Violation

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A shop owner who runs a retro game store in Japan’s Mie Prefecture was arrested by Japanese law enforcement following the sale of a forged Pokémon card in December 2021, according to a report from CBC TV.

Yukinori Harada, the 48-year-old owner of Alive Yokkaichi Tokiwa, allegedly sold the fake for 2,200 Yen (about $20) to a customer, but his arrest wasn’t just for the card — he also allegedly had a fake copy of “Rockman” displayed in store, which is the Japanese name for Mega Man. Harada admitted to the police investigators that he thought it might have been a fake when he sold it.

Some of the seized goods
Some of the seized goods (Image: CBC TV)

A further 150 cards and games were confiscated from the store on suspicion of being fake, and the police are attempting to determine the original sources of the forgeries.

The shop’s Twitter account made a tweet apologising for the “inconvenience”, assuring customers that the store will remain open, and that they are refraining from making any further comments while they investigate.

This is just the latest story involving forged Pokémon cards, as the market continues to boom. Late last year, 7.6 tons of fake Pokémon cards were seized at customs in China, and Logan Paul was scammed out of $3.5 million with GI Joe cards that were sold to him as Pokémon cards.