Kevin Lee Co sentenced for embedzzling $4.8 million, spent nearly $1 million on online game

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ROCKLIN, Calif. (KTXL) — A Rocklin business owner was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday for embezzling $4.8 million from his employer and defrauding banks, the US Department of Justice said.

Kevin Lee Co, 51, pleaded guilty in 2016 to wire fraud and money laundering to steal from his employer, Holt of California, according to a DOJ press release.

The DOJ said Co used the money he embezzled to purchase “luxury cars, home furniture, NFL football and NBA basketball season tickets, and approximately $1 million in purchases for the online video game “Game of War.”

The DOJ said that while Co was pending sentencing he applied for funds for his own business under the Paycheck Protection Program. Co did not disclose, as required in his application, that he had pleaded guilty to criminal charges.

According to the DOJ press release, financial institutions that loaned Co money suffered a total loss of $530,552.

Co owned Apollo HP Inc. which sold generators, windows, and residential solar panels.