Roseville Man Charged with Defrauding Employer of over $2.3 Million

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Christopher William Edward Abplanalp, 38, of Roseville, was charged Wednesday with wire fraud in a scheme to enrich himself with his employer's money, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, between February 2023 and July 2025, working as an Executive Manager at a Placer County business, Abplanalp stole more than $2.3 million, most of which he then spent gambling. In executing the scheme, he diverted money from the business's account with an online payment processing system to his own personal account, or to various other friends or acquaintances. Abplanalp also repeatedly charged a client's credit card for items the client never ordered and for invoices that did not exist, then transferred those proceeds to himself. Additionally, he instructed clients to tender payments directly to him and told vendors to issue rebates and refunds to his personal account, rather than the business. To conceal his theft, Abplanalp altered, deleted, or made false entries to the business's accounting software.

Abplanalp is scheduled for an initial appearance and arraignment on Sept. 8, 2026, at 2 p.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremy D. Peterson.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation with assistance from IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dhruv M. Sharma is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Abplanalp faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.