Nearly $1 million in graded Pokémon and sports cards stolen from FedEx truck outside PSA

Thieves broke into a FedEx truck parked outside PSA‘s Santa Ana headquarters and drove off with an estimated $963,000 in graded sports and Pokémon cards that were on their way back to collectors.

The theft happened on Tuesday, Oct. 13, in the 1600 block of E. St. Andrew Place, where PSA handles shipping and receiving. According to the Santa Ana Police Department, the driver was away from the truck for 60 to 90 minutes. In that window someone broke the lock and took two full pallets of roughly 100 packages each, plus about 50 packages from a third pallet.

Police confirmed the theft publicly on Oct. 20. No arrests have been announced and nothing has been recovered.

Why it matters

These weren’t raw cards in transit to a grader. They were finished slabs heading home, many of them high-value submissions. Several hundred freshly graded cards are now loose in the market, and every buyer of PSA slabs over the next few months is a potential mark.

It also puts a number on a risk most submitters never think about. Your card is only as safe as the weakest link between the grader’s loading dock and your mailbox.

By the numbers

• $963,000: PSA’s estimate for the two full pallets alone. The final figure could climb once the third pallet is fully scanned.
• ~250 packages taken in total. Police have not said how many individual cards were inside.
• 60–90 minutes: how long the truck sat unattended, per police sources cited by The Athletic.
• 104 cards belonged to one collector alone, YouTuber SKY-B Cards, who says he paid more than $8,000 in grading fees and insured the shipment for over $150,000.
• 0 arrests and 0 recoveries so far.

Zoom in

PSA’s parent company, Collectors, said it has deactivated the certificates for the stolen items, notified its marketplace partners and is contacting affected customers to arrange compensation “based on fair market value.” That compensation is capped by each item’s Maximum Insured Value, the declared value set at submission.

That cap is where the fight is shaping up. SKY-B, whose order included case hits and one-of-one cards, told CBS Los Angeles it was “the worst feeling I’ve ever experienced.” He says other victims have received offers he called “insultingly low.”

FedEx said the security of customers’ shipments is a top priority and that it is working with investigators.

What to do if you’re buying

• Run every cert number through PSA’s cert verification before you pay, not after. A deactivated cert is your first and best red flag.
• Be wary of recently graded, high-end slabs from new or thin-feedback sellers, especially if they’re priced to move fast.
• Watch for freshly cracked cards. A thief who pulls a card out of its holder kills the cert trail. Raw copies of premium cards with no history deserve extra scrutiny for a while.

What to do if you’re submitting

• Declare real values. Lowballing your declared value to save on fees also lowers what you can recover if a card goes missing.
• Check your email if you had a PSA return shipping around Oct. 13. Affected customers are being contacted directly.
• Consider show drop-off for your biggest cards. Some collectors are already skipping the mail and handing cards to PSA in person at conventions.

Reality check

The $963,000 figure is an estimate, not an appraisal, and police say the exact value hasn’t been determined. Police also haven’t said whether the thieves knew what was on the truck or whether anyone on the inside was involved. There’s no evidence yet that this was a targeted hit rather than a lucky one.

It does fit a pattern, though. Card theft has been climbing alongside prices. In February, thieves cut through a wall to rob an Anaheim collectibles shop. In April, a smash-and-grab at Elite Sports Cards in Chicago took about $100,000 in Pokémon. And this month, Phoenix shop Crown Cards lost roughly $70,000 in Pokémon cards about six weeks after opening. Its owners have posted a $10,000 reward.

What’s next

Santa Ana police say the investigation is ongoing. Expect the compensation fight to play out in public as more victims post their PSA offers. Expect more pressure on graders and carriers to rethink how high-value returns sit at the curb.

Anyone with information can contact the Santa Ana Police Department.

How this was made

Compiled from reporting by CBS Los Angeles, ABC News, Dexerto, Heavy and Hoodline, citing the Santa Ana Police Department, PSA/Collectors and FedEx statements. Figures are police and company estimates as of Oct. 20, 2026.