--- title: Gamer Blew $1 Million on "Game of War," Stolen from Employer description: The California man fraudulently stole nearly $5 million from his workplace, of which he spent $1 million on the popular mobile game. canonical: https://time.com/4598024/game-of-war-stolen-money/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-12T19:23:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:39:24.045Z og:title: Man Says He Blew $1 Million of His Employer's Money on Game of War og:description: A California man has pled guilty after spending $1 million on the mobile game. og:url: https://time.com/4598024/game-of-war-stolen-money/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Man Says He Blew $1 Million of His Employer's Money on Game of War twitter:description: A California man has pled guilty after spending $1 million on the mobile game. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Man Spent $1 Million of His Employer's Money on a Mobile Game > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d5526036-09f5-4fbc-b951-21c1c53dae7a&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d5526036-09f5-4fbc-b951-21c1c53dae7a&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=d5526036-09f5-4fbc-b951-21c1c53dae7a&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d5526036-09f5-4fbc-b951-21c1c53dae7a&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Dec 12, 2016 7:23 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Dec 12, 2016 7:23 PM UTC Mobile gaming can rack up quite the hefty fee. Just ask a California man who recently pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, to the tune of nearly $5 million, of which he says he spent about $1 million on “Game of War” according to [the court documents shared by ArsTechnica.](http://arstechnica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/gameofwar.pdf) Kevin Lee Co says he took the sum was taken from his employer, a heavy-equipment company, over the space of about six years as Co held down a role in the company’s accounting department. He reportedly engaged in a scheme to falsify expenditures on plastic surgery, luxury cars, and sports tickets. As for Game of War? It’s a mobile app that you can download for free. But it’s also ranked number two in top-grossing games of 2016, according to [Think Gaming](https://thinkgaming.com/app-sales-data/3352/game-of-war-fire-age/). That’s because to “win” at the popular game—with its high-profile ads starring model Kate Upton—users will spend large amounts to speed up the process of building cities and training virtual troops. Without shelling out, some users might find themselves surpassed by paying players. ([VentureBeat says](http://venturebeat.com/2016/04/01/game-of-wars-paying-players-spent-an-average-of-550-on-its-in-app-purchases-in-2015/) the average user ponied up $550 on the game in 2015.) But Co appeared to go above and beyond, ultimately shelling out a cool million. He potentially faces up to 20 years in prison. \[[KansasCityStar](http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/national/article120287233.html) / [ArsTechnica](http://arstechnica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/gameofwar.pdf)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4598024/game-of-war-stolen-money/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4598024/game-of-war-stolen-money/"},"headline":"This Man Spent $1 Million of His Employer's Money on a Mobile Game","datePublished":"2016-12-12T19:23:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:39:24.045Z","description":"Gaming can get expensive","url":"https://time.com/4598024/game-of-war-stolen-money/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Internet"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4598024/game-of-war-stolen-money/","name":"This Man Spent $1 Million of His Employer's Money on a Mobile Game"}}]}] ```