PSA Releases List of 6,451 Stolen Items: 2,978 Pokémon Cards, FBI Investigating, Grading Fees Refunded
Includes 63 Korean Pokémon cards; orders via dealers must contact dealers
PSA released the full list of certification numbers for 6,451 graded items stolen from a FedEx truck on Oct. 13 on Oct. 23 (local time). Among them, Pokémon cards accounted for the largest share at 2,978 items. In an official update published on the same day, PSA stated that Santa Ana Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are jointly investigating the incident, and that it has fully refunded grading fees for affected orders.
FBI Launches Investigation, All 6,451 Stolen Items Disclosed
According to PSA, the incident occurred on Oct. 13 in a FedEx truck transporting customer return orders from its Santa Ana, California facility. PSA stated, "Both the Santa Ana Police Department and the FBI are actively investigating this theft." The company added that it provided footage, manifests, and itemized records to law enforcement, held an in-person briefing at its facility, and remains in daily contact.
The released list PDF spans 93 pages. It contains PSA certification numbers and card descriptions for all 6,451 stolen items, along with serial numbers for cards that have them. PSA said it has shared this list with marketplace sellers, auction houses, and online trading platforms. The breakdown by game was not provided in PSA's text. The table below represents a manual count of items containing game names in the description column, and major figures such as Pokémon and ONE PIECE match tallies reported by TheGamer.
| Category | Number of Items | |---|---| | Pokémon | 2,978 | | ONE PIECE | 898 | | Yu-Gi-Oh! | 58 | | Dragon Ball | 56 | | Lorcana | 27 | | Digimon | 16 | | Total (including sports cards) | 6,451 |
Among the 2,978 Pokémon items, 1,359 were Japanese cards labeled 'JAPANESE' in the description, and 63 were Korean cards labeled 'KOREAN'. The Korean cards included the 2025 'M2-Inferno X' Mega Charizard X ex Special Art Rare. Items without language markings, such as English cards, were not separately classified.
Full Refund of Grading Fees… Compensation Routes Differ by Shipping Label
PSA stated, "We will not make customers wait for this investigation to conclude before receiving their compensation." The company has begun reaching out to affected customers and has refunded all grading fees for the affected orders. The grading fee refund is separate from compensation for the stolen cards and will not reduce the compensation amount.
Compensation paths differ depending on how the order was submitted:
- Orders shipped with PSA return labels: PSA insurance applies. Customers can begin the claim process now, and payouts are already being issued.
- Orders shipped using customer-provided labels: PSA's dedicated team is handling these directly on a customer-by-customer basis.
- Orders submitted through a dealer (submission service): Customers must contact that dealer directly.
PSA stated that recovery efforts will continue even after compensation is paid, and if cards are subsequently recovered, customers will have the choice to keep their payout or return the funds to receive their cards back. Anyone who is a victim or has tips regarding the theft can contact the FBI Los Angeles Field Office (+1 310-477-6565, weekdays 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., option 1) and ask for the agent handling the PSA theft case.
How Korean Buyers Can Check via the List PDF
Most collectors in South Korea submit cards to PSA through submission services. Those whose orders in this incident were submitted through an agent should contact that agent first rather than PSA. Buyers purchasing overseas PSA slabs domestically can also verify items. Open the list PDF from PSA's official update page and enter the certification number printed on the slab label (mostly 9 digits) into the PDF viewer search (Ctrl+F). If the number appears, it is a stolen item. It is safer to halt the transaction and preserve seller information and chat logs. However, the absence of a number on the list does not guarantee authenticity. Cases involving forged labels or altered numbers cannot be caught by this list alone. Buyers should also verify the certification number on the PSA website and inspect the physical slab's condition.
Sources
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This article was machine-translated from Korean with AI. Original →