Martin Kao, the former CEO and 99% owner of Martin Defense Group LLC, formerly known as Navatek LLC, was sentenced today in federal court by Senior U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi to 87 months imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release for COVID-relief wire fraud, money laundering, and bank fraud.

Kobayashi also ordered Kao, 51, of Honolulu, to pay restitution of $12,841,490 to the Small Business Administration, forfeit $12,841,490 in Paycheck Protection Program funds he obtained through fraud, forfeit the proceeds of his bank fraud after foreclosure of the house he bought by fraudulently obtaining a $3 million loan, and perform 12,800 hours of community service while on supervised release.

Kao submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications to at least three banks, including two headquartered in Hawaii, during spring 2020, according to Kao’s admissions during his guilty plea hearings and other court records.

“Martin Kao, motivated by greed, chose to repeatedly lie about his assets and prior loans in order to obtain millions of dollars in funds that were intended to help businesses staggered by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Acting United States Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson said in a statement.