Rocklin business owner sentenced 10 years in prison for embezzling, defrauding banks

Kevin Lee Co, 51, of Rocklin was sentenced Aug. 18 to 10 years in prison for wire fraud, money laundering and submitting false statements to a financial institution, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced Aug. 18. According to court documents, Co pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering for embezzling about $4.8-million from his former employer, Holt of California on Dec. 8, 2016. Co used the embezzled money to buy items, including luxury cars, home furniture, NFL football and NBA basketball season tickets, and about $1-million in purchases for the "Game of War" online video game, according to Talbert. While out of custody and awaiting sentencing on those charges, Co defrauded federally-insured financial institutions by submitting false statements to qualify for Paycheck Protection Program loans, according to court documents. Co was the sole owner of Apollo HP Inc., a Rocklin-based company that sells generators, windows and residential solar panels. Between April 2020 and January 2021, Co applied for and obtained Paycheck Protection Program loans for his company. The loan applications required him to disclose his pending criminal charges and guilty pleas. However, in his loan applications, Co did not report that he had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges in order to cause two banks to approve loans for his company. As a result of Co's false statements, financial institutions suffered a total loss of $530,552, according to the court documents. This case was the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas M. Fogg prosecuted the case.