Kevin Lee Co of Rocklin, California has pleaded guilty to submitting false statements to various banks, insured by the US federal government, to secure Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
Notably, Co had previously (2016) pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering after he had embezzled over $4.8 million from a former employer. He defrauded the banks while out of custody and awaiting sentencing on his previous charges.
In 2020-21, Co applied for and secured PPP loans for his company Apollo HP Inc. Apollo HP sells generators, residential solar panels and windows. Co was required to disclose any pending criminal charges/guilty pleas on his loan applications. However, he knowingly concealed the information about his previous guilty pleas to get the loans approved by the banks. In this manner, Co incurred a total loss of $530,552 to the various banks.
Co will receive his sentence in August 2022.
Source: US Department of Justice
