Fintech CEO and Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnus charged with alleged fraud

Now the Forbes 30 Under 30 List has become more than famous due to the number of participants who are later accused of fraud. Notable alumni include Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTXCharlie Javice, CEO of Frank, Joanna Smith-Griffinfounder of AI startup AllHere Education, and “pharmaceutical brother” Martin Shkreli, among others. Now, another member of the list faces federal charges.

Gökçe Güven, 26-year-old Turkish national, founder and CEO of a fintech startup Callwas billed last week with allegations of securities fraud, wire fraud, visa fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The New York-based fintech startup – which uses the “Turn your rewards into [a] The tagline “Revenue Engine” – indicates that it can help businesses create and monetize individual rewards programs. The company was founded in 2022 and offers participating businesses the opportunity to earn ongoing revenue streams through affiliate sales partners, Axios. previously reported.

Güven was included in last year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 list. The review notes in the article that Güven’s clients included chocolate major Godiva and the International Air Transport Association, the trade body that represents the majority of the world’s airlines. Kalder also claims to have benefited from the support of a number of leading venture capital firms.

The U.S. Department of Justice claims that during Kalder’s tenure round of seeds in April 2024, Güven managed to raise $7 million from more than a dozen investors after presenting a pitch deck filled with false information.

According to the government, Kalder’s pitch deck claimed there were 26 brands “using Kalder” and another 53 “live freemium” brands. However, officials say that in reality Kalder has, in many cases, only offered many of these companies heavily discounted pilot programs. The other brands “had no agreements with Kalder, not even for free services,” officials said in a press release announcing the indictment. The pitch deck also “falsely reported that Kalder’s recurring revenue had increased steadily month-over-month since February 2023 and that as of March 2024, Kalder had reached $1.2 million in annual recurring revenue.”

The government also accuses Güven of having kept two separate financial books. One of these sets included “false and inflated figures” and was presented to investors or potential investors to hide the “true financial condition of the company,” the government claims. The DOJ also alleges that Güven used lies about Kalder as well as false documents to obtain a visa category reserved for people with “extraordinary abilities,” which would allow him to live and work in the United States.

TechCrunch contacted Güven through his personal website. The CEO said she would share a statement on the accusations on Tuesday.