Update 08/11/2023: The $300,000's worth of trading cards stolen during Gen Con, North America's largest board game convention, are now confirmed to be Magic: The Gathering cards.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) released an update to the case on Twitter (below), saying they're now looking for two individuals named Thomas J Dunbar and Andrew Pearson Giaume regarding the theft. The pair are known residents of New York City and the IMPD shared a handful of much clearer photos compared to their last post.
TCG fans were questioning which card game was affected by the theft, with perhaps the biggest concern revolving around Disney Lorcana, which made its debut at Gen Con.
IMPD Detectives would like to speak with: Thomas J Dunbar and Andrew Pearson Giaume, regarding the theft of $300,000 worth of “Magic: The Gathering” gaming cards from Gen Con Indy 2023. Both are residents of New York City.
— IMPD (@IMPDnews) August 10, 2023
Call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-8477.
Case# IP230075163 https://t.co/XeaVm5zPFx pic.twitter.com/BJR4QZzfSM
Original Story 08/07/2023: Thieves launched a heist at North America's largest board game convention and stole $300,000 worth of product.
As reported by Dicebreaker, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) is currently seeking help identifying two "people of interest" who are possibly involved in a theft at Gen Con.
The event, which took place from August 3 to 6, was attended by the biggest names in the industry and also saw the debut of the highly anticipated Disney Lorcana trading card game, though its launch was not affected by the theft.
The alleged thieves reportedly acquired a pallet jack before removing a pallet of trading cards while vendors were setting up their Gen Con stalls, the IMPD said. The cards were moved to an unknown location and remain missing.
Trading card thefts are becoming more and more common, perhaps unsurprising since a single card can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not a couple of million. Though it's unclear which trading card products were taken, whether it was Magic: The Gathering, Flesh and Blood, Yu-Gi-Oh, or otherwise, Pokémon cards are perhaps stolen most regularly.
Tokyo police reported an unprecedented number of trading card thefts in the latter half of 2022, while an independent gaming store in Minnesota reportedly had around $250,000 worth of Pokémon merchandise stolen in February 2022. One month later, again in Tokyo, a man was arrested for allegedly launching a heist in order to steal the treasured cards.
Also in March, a Georgia man didn't steal Pokémon cards directly but instead misused money from the government to buy one, using a COVID-19 relief payment to buy a rare, shiny Charizard.
Image Credit: Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
