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Top executive who featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 jailed in US over $7 million fraud
Apart from defrauding investors, Güven also made false statements and submitted fabricated documents as part of her US visa application.
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A 27-year-old entrepreneur who featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2025 has been sentenced to 25 months in prison in the US for defrauding investors of approximately $7 million. Gökçe Güven, founder and CEO of New York-based technology startup Kalder Inc., pleaded guilty to securities fraud after misleading investors about the company’s revenue, business partnerships and financial performance.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, Güven, a Turkish citizen based in New York, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud on May 15, 2026. Along with the prison sentence, she has been ordered to pay $6,717,997 each in forfeiture and restitution to her victims.
“Gökçe Güven committed a brazen fraud at Kalder, her technology startup,” US Attorney Jamie McDonald said in a statement.
“She promised more than a dozen venture capital investors that Kalder had increasing revenue and a growing customer base—none of which was true—and then deployed those same lies and forgeries to obtain an immigration benefit,” he added.
(Also Read: Two Indian teenage founders raise $1.3 million for Y Combinator-backed AI startup)
How the entrepreneur defrauded investors of $7 million
According to a press release, Güven founded Kalder, a technology startup focused on business loyalty and rewards programmes. In April 2024, she began raising funds for the company’s seed round by approaching dozens of venture capital investors.
She provided prospective investors with false statements, misleading claims and fabricated documents about the company’s revenue and brand partnerships. Among other claims, a pitch deck circulated by Güven stated that 26 brands were “using Kalder” and another 53 brands were part of its “live freemium” programme, which allowed businesses to use basic Kalder services free of charge.
However, according to the US Attorney’s Office, some of these brands had only entered into limited pilot programmes, often at heavily discounted rates, while others had no agreement with the company at all. Kalder’s pitch deck also falsely claimed that Kalder’s recurring revenue had increased steadily month after month, reaching $1.2 million in annual recurring revenue.
Prosecutors further alleged that Güven maintained two sets of financial records to conceal the company’s actual financial position. One contained accurate financial information prepared by Kalder’s outside accounting firm, while the other contained false and inflated figures that she shared with investors.
She also sent investors a forged contract between Kalder and a purported brand partner. Through these misrepresentations, Güven raised approximately $7 million from more than a dozen investors.
(Also Read: US tech CEO uses AI agents to manage emails, track competitors and organise his workday)
Used fabricated documents for US visa application
Apart from defrauding investors, Güven also made false statements and submitted fabricated documents as part of her US visa application. After her student visa expired, Kalder sponsored her application for an O-1A visa, which is generally issued to individuals with extraordinary ability in fields such as science, education, business and athletics.
Her visa application repeated several of the claims she had made to investors about Kalder’s business performance. She also submitted reference letters purportedly signed by business executives. However, investigators found that Güven had digitally signed the letters herself without the executives’ knowledge or consent. She was granted an O-1A visa in the fall of 2025, but it has since been revoked.
