Friend of alleged Pokémon card scammer suspects he ran into financial trouble, more victims report losses of over S$259,000

More victims of the alleged Pokémon card Carousell scam have come forward, claiming losses of over S$259,000.

They only realised that they had fallen prey after news broke that 29-year-old Eugene Kwek Yi Jun was arrested and charged for his alleged role in the ruse.

Kwek had advertised pre-order sales of limited edition Pokémon trading cards on Carousell.

After receiving payment, Kwek would claim that the cards had been delayed and become unresponsive.

Kwek also allegedly used his friend's PayNow account to collect payments.

Losses may amount to over S$259,000

Speaking with Mothership, one victim, D, shared that he has come together with other victims in a WhatsApp chat group to pool their resources in attempts to get back their money.

Some of them apparently only realised they had been scammed after coming across news headlines.

The chat group currently has more than 220 members, who collectively claim that more than S$259,000 was paid out to Kwek.

The highest amount paid by a single individual was S$12,000, according to a list seen by Mothership.

D said he initially decided to deal with Kwek as he had "strong reviews", so he did not suspect that anything was off about him.

He paid S$1,800 for his order, which was the market rate.

"Economy is tough, and I really hope he pays everyone back," D commented.

Enlisted friend's help in collecting payments

According to chat logs seen by Mothership, some of the victims said they transferred the money to Kwek via PayNow, using a phone number.

While they had believed this was Kwek's number, it turned out that it belonged to a friend of his.

The victims got in touch with this friend, who was later added to the victim's group chat.

In the chat, the friend, Alex (not his real name), told the victims that he had known Kwek for seven to eight years.

He professed that he was also a victim, as he did not know that Kwek had used his PayNow account for illicit activities.

According to Alex, he was enlisted by Kwek to help him last year.

Kwek apparently told him that he had issues with his bank account.

He also alleged that he might have issues getting sales or stocks from suppliers due to his "reputation" in the Pokémon trading card game community.

It is not clear from the chat logs what this "reputation" might entail.

When Alex was asked by the victims what he knew of Kwek's reputation, Alex said the question would be better addressed by others who have been around in the community.

Alex said he agreed to help Kwek out of goodwill.

Friend suspects Kwek ran into trouble

Alex claimed Kwek's Carousell business was based on "legit processes" and that he had fulfilled pre-orders and refunds in the past.

He repeated his suspicion that something may have happened to Kwek financially.

Alex also shared that he was informed by Kwek on Nov. 30 that he would not be able to do fulfillments and refunds.

According to him, Kwek said he was apparently facing cash flow issues and might have implicated Alex's PayNow-linked phone number.

Alex purportedly made a police report afterwards, and was told by Kwek that he would be turning himself in.

Friend says he has 'nothing to hide'

While Alex knew of another mutual friend who helped Kwek with deliveries, Alex clarified that he was not in cahoots with Kwek and had "nothing to hide".

He told the victims that he was just as puzzled as he knew Kwek as someone who saw his reputation and business as "important".

He later told the members of the chat that he has contacted the police and will not be able to share anymore updates.

It is unclear when the conversation took place.

When Mothership reached out to Alex, he similarly said he would not be able to provide further updates until he hears from the police.

Arrested on Dec. 1

According to a Singapore Police Force news release on Dec. 2, Kwek was arrested on Dec. 1.

He would advertise the cards and collect payment from unwitting customers before eventually becoming unresponsive when customers pressed him about their orders.

There have been 111 reports amounting to losses of over S$80,000.

He was later charged on Dec. 3 for cheating.

Top image via LinkedIn, Pokémon