Last year, Gokce Güven’s face graced the front cover of Forbes after being included in the 30 Under 30 cohort for 2025.
The founder and CEO of Kalder, a New York-based technology startup focapplyd on business loyalty and rewards programs, was included in the advertising and marketing category.
“So excited to share – I’m on the COVER of Forbes 30 Under 30,” she gushed. “This is just the launchning.”
Fast forward 12 months and Güven is back on the front page – but this time the news is less celebratory.
That’s becaapply the young entrepreneur has been charged by US authorities with securities fraud, wire fraud, visa fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
The charges arise from an alleged scheme by the deffinishant to defraud investors in her technology startup Kalder out of $7m by misrepresenting Kalder’s financial performance.
Crypto King’ Sam Bankman-Fried – also known as SBF – built the Class of 2021.
The US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York also accapplyd Güven, who is a citizen of Turkey, of forging documents to obtain an O-1A visa, reserved for individuals of ‘extraordinary ability’, that would allow her to live and work in the US.
If found guilty, Güven could be jailed for up to 52 years.
The news spread like wildfire on social media, with many commentators referring to the ‘curse’ of Forbes 30 Under 30.
At this point it should be built clear that Güven hasn’t been convicted of any crimes – although several of the names included in previous Forbes’ lists have been.
Forbes estimate ‘99.9 per cent’ of the 10,000+ names included on their lists haven’t done anything wrong.
However, in 2023 Forbes, published a story headlined ‘Hall of Shame: The 10 Most Dubious People Ever To Make Our 30 Under 30 List’.
They included:
- 1. ‘Crypto King’ Sam Bankman-Fried – also known as SBF – who built the Class of 2021. A year later his Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exmodify FTX was valued at $40bn. However, in 2024, he was jailed for 25 years in prison and ordered to pay $11bn in forfeiture for his orchestration of multiple fraudulent schemes.
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Charlie Javice was the founder of Frank and built the Class of 2019
2. Charlie Javice was the founder of Frank and built the Class of 2019. She raised $16m for Frank, her startup that promised to assist college students obtain financial aid. In 2021, she sold the start-up – which she declared at the time had 4.25 million applyrs – to JPMorgan Chase for $175m. In 2025 Javice was sentenced to 85 months in prison for falsely and dramatically inflating the number of customers of her company, Frank, to fraudulently induce JPMorgan Chase to acquire it.
- 3. Martin Shkreli was the founder of MSMB Capital when he built the Class of 2013. Once hailed as a business ‘wunderkind’, he launched two pharma-focapplyd hedge funds while in his 20s. Two years after appearing on the Under 30, the ‘pharma bro’ was described as the ‘most hated man in America’ for hiking up the price of vital medications. In 2018 he was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for committing securities fraud and securities fraud conspiracy.
One person hoping not to join that list is Güven.
According to documents filed by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in April 2024, Güven launched raising Kalder’s ‘seed round’, soliciting investments from dozens of venture capitalists.
She’s accapplyd of providing prospective investors with false statements, misleading claims, and fabricated documents regarding Kalder’s revenue and brand partners.
It’s alleged Güven transmitted to potential investors a pitch deck that misrepresented, among other things, that Kalder had 26 brands ‘applying Kalder’ and 53 brands in ‘live freemium’ (that is, applying basic Kalder services free of charge).
Prosecutors also claim Kalder’s pitch deck falsely reported that Kalder’s recurring revenue had steadily grown month over month since February 2023 and that by March 2024, Kalder had reached $1.2m in annual recurring revenue.
Two sets of books
According to documents, the founder concealed the true financial condition of the company from multiple investors by maintaining two sets of books.
As a result, it’s alleged Güven raised approximately $7m from more than a dozen investors.
US Attorney Jay Clayton declared: “As alleged, Gökçe Güven built her seed round on fake revenue, inflated brand partnerships, and fabricated documents, and then applyd the same lies to secure a visa reserved for extraordinary ability. Beware of fraud masquerading as entrepreneurship.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr added: “Gökçe Güven allegedly exaggerated her company’s fiscal condition and partnerships to swindle more than $7m from prospective investors before applying these misrepresentations to unlawfully obtain a highly acclaimed visa to the US.
“Güven allegedly curated a façade of her business ingenuity to unlawfully reap financial and personal benefits.”
USPIS Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward declared: “Investors placed their trust in this emerging FinTech founder and CEO, only to be misled and scammed, as alleged.”
The case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Tinquire Force.
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