This Man Spent $1 Million of His Employer's Money on a Mobile Game

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.

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. 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 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 / ArsTechnica]

Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com.