The Forbes 30 Under 30 list has become more than a little notorious for the number of entrants who later face fraud charges. Notable alumni include FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Frank CEO Charlie Javice, Joanna Smith-Griffin of the AI startup AllHere Education, and “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli, among others. Now, another member of the list has been hit with federal charges.
Gökçe Güven, a 26-year-old Turkish national and the founder and CEO of fintech startup Kalder, was charged last week with alleged securities fraud, wire fraud, visa fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The New York-based fintech startup uses the tagline “Turn Your Rewards into a Revenue Engine” and claims to help companies create and monetize individual rewards programs. Founded in 2022, the company reportedly offered participating firms the opportunity to earn ongoing revenue streams via partner affiliate sales.
Güven was featured in last year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 list. The magazine noted that her clients included major chocolatier Godiva and the International Air Transport Association, the trade organization representing a majority of the world’s airlines. Kalder also claimed backing from a number of prominent venture capital firms.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that during Kalder’s seed round in April 2024, Güven raised $7 million from more than a dozen investors using a pitch deck filled with false information. According to the government, the pitch deck claimed 26 brands were “using Kalder” and another 53 were in “live freemium.” Officials state that in reality, Kalder had only been offering heavily discounted pilot programs to many of those companies, while other brands had no agreement with Kalder whatsoever. The pitch deck also falsely reported that Kalder’s recurring revenue had grown steadily since February 2023 and that by March 2024, the company had reached $1.2 million in annual recurring revenue.
The government further accuses Güven of maintaining two separate sets of financial books. One set contained false and inflated numbers and was presented to investors to hide the company’s true financial condition. The DOJ also alleges that Güven used lies about Kalder and forged documents to obtain a category of visa reserved for individuals of “extraordinary ability,” allowing her to live and work in the United States.
TechCrunch reached out to Güven through her personal website. The CEO said she would be sharing a statement about the charges on Tuesday.