What are the charges against William Gross? FBI employee sentenced for spending over $140,000 company money on Pokémon cards and other games

Mitch William Gross, 34, from the city of Earling, Iowa, has been sentenced to federal prison for using his company's credit card to buy Pokémon cards, video game accessories, and prepaid gift cards. In his attempt to become a Pokémon master who's caught them all, he now faces four months in a federal prison.

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The FBI has caught somone spending $140,000 on Pokemon cards and video games with their company credit card

He was sentenced to four months in federal prison and was ordered to pay back $146,000 in restitution

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa, Gross, who entered a guilty plea to wire fraud, was sentenced on August 15, 2025, to four months in federal prison and three years of supervised release. In addition, he was mandated to reimburse his previous company $146,590.15.

Gross worked for Ruan Transportation Corporation, a significant logistics firm unrelated to the casino industry. Gross made unlawful transactions using company credit cards between September 2021 and October 2022.

According to court filings, Gross purchased prepaid gift cards, gaming accessories, and Pokémon trading cards. He then went on to submit falsified invoices to cover up his actions. He even misrepresented charges on expense reports to make them look legitimate.

The fraud conducted by Gross came to light only after the FBI and the Des Moines Police Department conducted an investigation and discovered the illicit spending.

Gross was soon found guilty of wire fraud, which is a serious federal felony. Typically, wire fraud entails a plot to defraud a person or organization using electronic communication, which involves your use of credit card systems and online transactions.

Federal prosecutors stressed that since the U.S. federal system does not offer parole, Gross would be imprisoned for the full four months of his sentence before starting his supervised release.

Gross has been sentenced to jail and forced to pay back the $146,590.15 that he stole. According to authorities, the total amount of the fraudulent transactions is reflected in the restitution.

In addition, his sentence includes four months of federal jail, followed by three years of supervised release.

Pokémon cards and crime in 2025

This is not the first time an individual has been arrested in a crime related to Pokémon cards. The craze of the cards has led to multiple crimes in 2025 alone due to their high resale value and cultural popularity.

In cases this year alone, the Police confiscated C$20,000 worth of stolen cards, leading to the arrest of a man from Fort McMurray, Alberta. Following this, another man from Massachusetts was arrested after he was charged with stealing more than C$100,000 worth of cards and then trying to sell them, and finally, in Toronto, four people were charged with stealing a rare Charizard card worth C$7,000.

In Ontario, a man stole the cards from a retailer valued at around C$200, and the police are on the search. Similarly, a Singapore-based man was imprisoned after defrauding his CEO into giving him $500,000, which he then used on iPads, cards, and trips.

There have been multiple reports of Pokémon-related thefts and frauds in other Canadian cities, including Regina, Victoria, and Guelph.

Gross will now start with his sentence, after which he will remain under federal watch for the next three years. It is not known if Ruan Transportation Corporation has received the restitution as of now.

If Gross still had those cards, he could have sold them at resale value, which is usually higher than the prices he bought them at.

I guess you can't "catch 'em all" and get away.

Stay tuned to Soap Central for more information.

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