Logan Paul loses over £2,500,000 in Pokémon trading card scam

Just because you can spend millions on Pokémon cards doesn’t mean you should (pic: YouTube)

It turns out Logan Paul’s supposedly one-of-a-kind Pokémon Trading Card Game box isn’t as authentic as he thought.

Last month, YouTuber Logan Paul bragged that he had acquired a 1st Edition Base Set for the Pokémon Trading Card Game for $3.5 million (about £2.55 million). Long story short, it’s an incredibly rare collector’s item that would make any diehard Pokémon fan jealous.

However, following accusations from members of the Trading Card Game community that the box was fake, thanks to evidence gathered by PokéBeach, Paul has confirmed that this is indeed the case.

Upon opening the box himself in a recent video, Paul discovered that it didn’t even contain the right cards. Instead, he found G.I. Joe cards, which he says is the worst part of the whole ordeal (guess he’s not a fan).

He also went back to the Baseball Card Exchange (BBCE) in Chicago, the company that originally authenticated the box, who seem to be as surprised as Paul was to learn it was fake.

So, not only has Paul lost a lot of money, the BBCE’s own reputation has taken a hit. It has acknowledged its mistake in an Instagram post and says that it will re-evaluate its approach to analysing sealed cases, as well as temporarily halt reviewing cards and boxes for both Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh.

This is unlikely to hurt Paul too much financially (his net worth is $35 million/£25.5 million according to Celebrity Net Worth), but he’s obviously not thrilled to have been scammed.

‘I’m a super positive person, and I’ll always be the one to look at the bright side. And I’m trying, but this is very hard,’ admits Paul.

More: Gaming

Fortunately for Paul, he has some supportive fans expressing sympathy for his situation, hopeful that he’ll be able to get his money back from the scammers.

Paul doesn’t seem confident that he will, considering the video description contains a sponsored plug for energy drink Prime with a blunt ‘Drink Prime so I can get my $3,500,000 back.’

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter.

MORE : Why now is a great time to start playing Pokémon Trading Card Game

MORE : Pokémon trading card eBay sales increase almost 600% in one year

MORE : Pokémon Legends: Arceus wants to be Zelda x Monster Hunter in new in-depth trailer

Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.