California resident Mohammad Asif has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $50,000 worth of rare Pokémon cards from his friend’s Fair Oaks home. And police believe the theft may be related to an armed robbery that happened in Tysons on the same day.
On July 23, a masked suspect with a rifle approached a female victim in a Tysons parking garage and stole her phone. The victim was on the phone with her boyfriend, who rushed to the scene from his home in Fair Oaks.
When the victim’s boyfriend arrived, he received an alert from his home security system that showed a suspect breaking in. Officers confirmed that the suspect had stolen rare collectible cards and a designer bag.
The boyfriend recognized Asif on the security footage. Asif’s cellphone also “pinged” in both the Tysons parking garage and the victim’s home, NBC4 Washington reported.
Asif pleaded guilty to two counts of grand larceny on December 8. A sentencing is scheduled for March.
A Rising Trend in Card Thefts
Pokémon cards have recently become a target for thieves, as their popularity and resale value rise, The Washington Post reported. The trading cards market is valued at about $7.8 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to $11.8 billion by 2030.
In March, a Fairfax gaming store reported a robbery of $10,000 worth of merchandise, including some sealed Pokémon cards. In September, about $25,000 worth of the collectible trading cards were stolen from a game store in Carroll County, Maryland. And on December 5, a California store reported a theft of more than $100,000 in trading cards.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
