DES MOINE, Aug 19 — An Iowa trucking company employee has learned that “gotta catch ‘em all” doesn’t apply to corporate credit cards.

Mitch William Gross, 34, of Earling, Iowa, US, was sentenced to four months in federal prison for using his employer’s credit cards to fund his Pokemon card collection and gaming hobby.

The Ruan Transportation Corporation employee managed to rack up over US$140,000 (RM591,000) in fraudulent purchases between September 2021 and October 2022.

Gross apparently thought he could level up his expense report game by submitting fake receipts that disguised his Pokemon purchases as legitimate business expenses.

US federal prosecutors did not find his creative accounting as entertaining as his gaming collection, charging him with wire fraud.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Des Moines Police Department investigated the case, presumably without needing any rare holographic cards to crack it.

After his four-month stint in federal prison, Gross will serve three years of supervised release and must pay back US$146,590.15 in restitution.

One might say his attempt to play the system has left him with a game over screen and a hefty bill.