Until now, the Forbes 30 Under 30 list has become more than a little infamous for the number of inductees who will be accused of cheating. Notable alumni include FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Frank CEO Charlie Javice, Joanna Smith-Griffin, founder of artificial intelligence startup AllHere Education, and “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli, among others. Now, another member of the list has been hit with federal charges.
Gökçe Güven, 26 years old Turkish national and founder and CEO of fintech startup Calderit was charged last week with alleged securities fraud, wire fraud, visa fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The New York-based fintech startup — which uses “Turn Your Rewards into [a] Revenue Engine” — says it can help companies create and monetize individual rewards programs. The company was founded in 2022 and offers participating companies the opportunity to earn ongoing revenue streams through affiliate sales, Axios mentioned earlier.
Güven was included in last year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 list. The magazine notes in the record that Güven’s clients included chocolate giant Godiva and the International Air Transport Association, the trade body representing the majority of the world’s airlines. Kalder also claims he enjoyed his support a number of prominent VC firms.
The US Department of Justice claims that, during Kalder’s seed round In April 2024, Güven managed to raise $7 million from more than a dozen investors after presenting a pitch deck that was full of false information.
According to the government, Kalder’s pitch deck claimed there were 26 brands “using Kalder” and another 53 brands on “live freemium.” But officials say that, in reality, Kalder had, in many cases, only offered deeply discounted pilot programs to many of those companies. Other brands “had absolutely no agreement with Kalder — not even for free services,” officials said in a news release announcing the indictment. The pitch deck also “falsely stated that Kalder’s recurring revenue had grown steadily every month since February 2023 and that by March 2024, Kalder had reached $1.2 million in annual recurring revenue.”
The government also accuses Guven of keeping two separate sets of financial books. One of those totals included “false and inflated numbers” and was presented to investors or potential investors to hide the company’s “true financial condition,” the government alleges. The DOJ also alleges that Güven used lies about Kalder as well as forged documents to obtain a visa class reserved for people of “extraordinary ability,” which would have allowed her to live and work in the United States.
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TechCrunch contacted Güven through her personal website. The CEO said she would release a statement about the charges on Tuesday.
