Suppose I buy a stolen video game account and then get caught.
Obviously, the police wouldn’t really care about a game account but that’s just my example.
The reason I am wondering is because couldn’t you just argue that you didn’t know it was stolen?
I know it depends on many things, including said stolen goods, reasons for purchase, and many more conditions, but in general, would I be in trouble?
The fact that the asset is digital is irrelevant.
It is a crime (generally something like "theft by receiving stolen property") to receive property you know to be stolen even if you didn't steal it yourself. The government has to prove that you knew the item was stolen but that doesn't require that the thief informs you explicitly. If someone offers to sell you a TV that "fell off a truck" at a steep discount and you're a reasonably street smart person, that's a crime. If you buy a used TV from someone on Facebook that turns out to be stolen, that is not a crime because you had no reason to believe it was stolen. In either case, the police would take the TV from you and return it to the rightful owner. But in the latter case you'd be free and clear.
If someone was charged with receiving a stolen video game account, the legally "interesting" question would be the value of the asset because that would influence the penalty. Since video game accounts cannot generally be sold and are rather unique bundles of digital goods, proving the value of the stolen goods would be an issue. That would only affect the penalty but it could affect it significantly depending on the difference between how the prosecution and the defense valued the account.
Have you read the Terms of Service of Steam, Epic or World of Warcraft or any other account based game access? Your account is generally marked as non-transferable in the contract. That means, your rights under the contract can not be sold, given away, gifted or disposed of to a third party. It also means nobody but the signer can become the owner of an account. Most platforms don't even have an inheritance policy and don't transfer accounts even under that special circumstance. In fact, Valve explicitly states you can not inherit steam accounts as of 2020:
Your Account, including any information pertaining to it (e.g.: contact information, billing information, Account history and Subscriptions, etc.), is strictly personal. You may therefore not sell or charge others for the right to use your Account, or otherwise transfer your Account, nor may you sell, charge others for the right to use, or transfer any Subscriptions other than if and as expressly permitted by this Agreement (including any Subscription Terms or Rules of Use) or as otherwise specifically permitted by Valve.
Among the companies that have an inheritance policy is Linden Labs, which have in their ToS state it is not possible to give it away, but who explicitly avail accounts to inheritance by explicit mention in your will as a matter of policy. The banning language in the ToS includes prior written consent of LL, which can be obtained for inheritance reasons as a matter of policy.
You may not sell, transfer or assign your Account or its contractual rights, licenses and obligations, to any third party (including, for the avoidance of doubt, permitting another individual to access your Account) without the prior written consent of Linden Lab.
In a physical good, there are cases where ownership can transfer to an unsuspecting buyer. But with accounts that are clearly not transferable in the normal case of selling between an owner and someone else, the would be buyer should have known he could never obtain ownership.
If you knew or should have known that the account was stolen, you could be charged. Here is a list of the possible options that could happen:
If you think you bought a stolen account, do these things:
