A former employee is accused of stealing approximately $20,736.87 worth of trading cards from one of the largest hobby shops in the world.
According to the Marietta (Ga.) Daily Journal, Stephen Christopher Adams, 40, of Temple, Ga., is accused of stealing the cards while working as a breaker for CardsHQ, an Atlanta-area hobby shop.
Adams was arrested Wednesday and charged with theft by taking greater than $1,500. He was released on Thursday on $10,000 bond.
CardsHQ was first opened in February 2024 by Geoff Wilson, the founder of the popular Sports Card Investor brand and the third-party data tool Market Movers.
Wilson told cllct Adams allegedly would take four boxes of sealed product from the company inventory, break three boxes for customers and then put the fourth box into his bag. According to Wilson, the company reviewed hundreds of hours of Adams' streams to confirm the stolen boxes weren't included in the price of the breaks, and customers weren't impacted.
Adams is also accused of falsifying company records to hide the theft, which reportedly occurred from Dec. 4, 2024, to Jan. 2, 2025.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.