In a bizarre case that has captured national attention, Mitch William Gross, 34, from Earling, Iowa, has been sentenced to a 4-month prison sentence for wire fraud after he used company credit cards for personal purchases. According to prosecutors, he defrauded Ruan Transportation Corporation of over $140,000 to buy Pokémon cards and gaming items.
For context, he submitted falsified receipts and misrepresented these purchases as business expenses. As announced by U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal, Gross will be forced to pay $146,590.15 in restitution after his time behind bars is finished.
In any case, the Department of Justice issued a press release on August 18, 2025, detailing the conviction. The document read, “An Earling, Iowa, man was sentenced on August 15, 2025, to four months in federal prison for wire fraud.”
Providing additional information on the crime, the DOJ stated, “According to public court documents, from September 2021 to October 2022, Mitch William Gross, 34, defrauded his employer, Ruan Transportation Corporation, by using business-related credit cards for personal purchases, including prepaid gift cards, Pokémon cards, and gaming items.”
Offering an insight into how the fraudster sought to conceal his crime, prosecutors reported, “Gross submitted falsified receipts and mischaracterized fraudulent charges on his expense reports so that the purchases appeared as legitimate business expenses. His fraudulent purchases totaled over $140,000.”
In conclusion, the brief summarizes the sentence, reading, “After completing his term of imprisonment, Gross will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Gross was also ordered to pay $146,590.15 in restitution.”
This is far from the first time Pokémon has hit the headlines. As we reported, then Senator JD Vance spoke about his reaction to learning he had been selected as Trump’s VP while his son was attempting to talk with him about Pokémon.
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Starting the humorous story, Vance described how he was the last one to learn about the decision. He explained, “We fly to Milwaukee, and I have no idea what’s going on. And the plane doesn’t have Wi-Fi on it, so it’s about an hour flight, and I land, and I’ve got about 350 messages.”
Continuing his hilarious anecdote, the well-loved Republican stated, “One of them is from somebody on the Trump campaign and says, ‘Hey, check your phone, make sure you don’t miss a call because a really important call is coming.’ So I’m like ‘oh sh*t,’ right — either a good call or a bad call, but it’s an important call.”
Offering a look into Trump’s well-known humor, Vance said, “I call Trump and I’m like ‘hey, sir, what’s going on.’ And he’s like, ‘JD, you missed a very important phone call, and now I’m gonna have to pick someone else.’ And I tense up and almost have a heart attack.”
However, while he was on the phone with the president, Vance recounted how, “The crazy thing about it is my son, who’s seven, is in the hotel room with me, and he’s really into Pokémon cards right now,” adding, “So he’s trying to talk to me about Pikachu, and I’m on the phone with Donald Trump. And I’m like ‘Son… shut the hell up for 30 seconds about Pikachu. This is the most important phone call of my life.’”
Conclduing his funny story, Vance said, “He asked my son, ‘what do you think about that?’ And my son’s like ‘oh, it sounds pretty good.’ And he goes ‘ok, fine’ and he hangs up the phone, and the statement goes out five minutes later. And then my whole life changed. And that’s how it happened.