Pokemon collector sues after $60,000 card goes missing

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The Trainer No. 3 Pokemon Card

A man shelled out $60,000 for a “priceless, rare” piece of pop culture history — a single Pokemon card — and is now suing because it vanished from a Queens shipping depot, according to court papers obtained by The Post.

Pokemon-loving plaintiff Marwan Alkhaja, 38, of Dubai says in his Brooklyn federal court suit that he bought the “Trainer No. 3’’ card online from a US seller on eBay in August 2018.

The deal was a steal given that he negotiated the seller down from an original asking price of $85,000.

“This is not ‘just a Pokemon card,’ ” Alkhaja’s lawyer, Mark Zaid, told The Post. “Nothing that is mid-five figures is ‘just a card,’ and it is one of the rarest collectibles within that community.’’

The card was never sold as part of a pack on the open market but only given out as the prize to the third-place finalist of a Japanese competition called Super Secret Battle in 1999.

“These are like actual Olympic medals — but rarer than that,’’ said Scott Pratte, a Chicago-area collector close to Alkhaja, to The Post.

Pratte said his pal, a real estate businessman, grew up with Pokemon and sees his card and comic collecting as both a hobby and investment, spending “millions’’ of dollars on them.

“He really goes after the best of the best,” the friend said.

“He really just enjoys the rarity of it and the uniqueness of what Pokemon brings,” Pratte added of the cards.

According to Alkhaja’s suit, he has proof that the seller, who hails from Iowa, insured the card for $50,000 with the US Postal Service before mailing it from North Liberty, Iowa.

The USPS sent “The Card’’ to a location for Aramex International, a Dubai-based shipping company, in Springfield Gardens, with the idea being it would then be sent to Alkhaja in Dubai, the suit says.

The filing says Alkhaja has documentation showing the card arrived at the Queens location.

But the “historic’’ card was never sent on to Alkhaja, and he says he has been getting the runaround from Aramex and its insurer for months since over its disappearance.

Pratte likened the card’s disappearance to a fine art heist, although he also noted that it’s possible a shipping employee lost it.

Alkhaja is seeking $150,000 in his suit, which includes the $60,000 he paid for the card, lawyers’ fees and “special damages’’ for being treated in a “reckless or willful disregard,’’ Zaid said, who made headlines as the attorney for the whistleblower in the Ukraine case that led to President Trump’s impeachment.

“This is a common case for me,’’ said the lawyer, noting that he took it on before he was hired by the whistleblower to rep him after the unidentified man filed his now famous political meddling complaint against Trump.

“As much as I am more well-known for my work with the intelligence community, I often represent those in the collectible community when they have a dispute,’’ said Zaid.

“I am a part-time comic book dealer, often lecture on the history of comics and represent many major collectors and companies and have a very well-known collection myself of comics, antiquarian books and historic documents, among other things.”

A rep for Aramex did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alkhaja’s purchase is far from record-breaking.

A Pokemon card of the lovable yellow character Pikachu sold in October — for $195,000, according to pcmag.com.

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