The current Pokémon card price bubble has seen a very alarming spate of armed robberies in specialist stores around the world over the last year, so it’s perhaps something of a relief to see a man eschewing guns for…taco seasoning. This was the masterplan of Florida genius Keith Wallis, who according to the office of attorney general James Uthmeier (thanks The Independent) committed an extraordinary 75 thefts of Pokémon TCG boxes from various Target stores over the last year, stealing at least $10,000 worth of product.
Wallis’ reign of heavily-spiced terror is said to have gone on from July 2025 to February 2026, and across many Target locations, from Orlando to Miami. He was finally caught by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and the Office of Statewide Prosecution, with extra help from Martin County Sheriff’s Office, and Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
How was taco seasoning involved? Well, this is where you have to think like a criminal. According to the statement, Wallis would visit a Target, pick up a bunch of “large boxes of trading cards” and then “an equal number of 99-cent taco seasoning packets,” and take both to the self-checkout. He’d scan and pay for the taco seasoning, but put the Pokémon cards in his bags, and then, well, then there’s a gap in the explanation. Perhaps to prevent others from repeating the crime? But however he tricked the scales, he’d then take the cards home and sell them on eBay.
Given the current state of the Pokémon TCG, this proved very profitable. In total, Wallis is said to have stolen $10,000 worth of cards, but made $40,000 reselling them on eBay. And apparently there might still be more incidences of his spree to uncover, as the investigation is ongoing. “Organized retail theft drives up prices for consumers,” said the Florida AG, “and that is not a result we are going to tolerate. These schemes will be met with the maximum punishment allowed under the law.”
Extraordinarily, that maximum punishment—if Wallis is found guilty on all charges—could be as much as 90 years in jail.
I’m still a little stuck on how this worked. Assuming Target has scales at the self-checkout (I’m in the UK, but that’s what’s done in supermarkets over here!), could a 99 cent taco seasoning really weigh the same as a “large” box of Pokémon cards? I mean, every time I try to add my own empty bag to the scale to pack my shopping, the machine freaks out as if I’d dropped an unscanned bar of gold bullion. And even if it did, imagine his bland, flavorless tacos.
