Forbes 30 Under 30 tech CEO sentenced to 25 months in US prison

Women tech CEO, winner of 'Forbes 30 under 30', sentenced to 25 months in prison in the US

A women entrepreneur from Turkey, who had made it to the Forbes' 30 Under 30 cover page in 2025 has been sentenced to 25 months of prison in the US. Gökçe Güven, 27, who founded and ran Kalder, a tech startup, is accused of committing a ‘brazen fraud’.

“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. Along with our law enforcement partners, the women and men of this Office are committed to protecting the integrity of the private markets and eliminating fraud in the startup space,” said U.S.

Attorney Jamie McDonald.

Allegations against the tech founder

In April 2024, GÜVEN began raising Kalder’s “seed round,” soliciting investments from dozens of venture capitalists. GÜVEN provided prospective investors with false statements, misleading claims, and fabricated documents regarding Kalder’s revenue and brand partners. Among other things, GÜVEN transmitted to investors a pitch deck that misrepresented that Kalder had 26 brands “using Kalder” and 53 brands in “live freemium” (that is, using basic Kalder services free of charge).

As to some brands, Kalder had only entered into pilot programs to provide services for a limited time period and typically at a heavily discounted price. Other brands had no agreement with Kalder whatsoever. Kalder’s pitch deck also falsely reported that Kalder’s recurring revenue had steadily grown month over month, reaching $1.2 million in annual recurring revenue. GÜVEN concealed the true financial condition of the company by maintaining two sets of books—one internal set containing Kalder’s accurate financial information that was prepared by Kalder’s outside accounting firm, and a second set with false and inflated numbers that GÜVEN transmitted to investors.GÜVEN also transmitted to investors a forged contract between Kalder and a purported brand partner. GÜVEN raised approximately $7 million from more than a dozen investors through these misrepresentations.A citizen of Turkey, GÜVEN, also made false statements and fabricated documents as part of a visa application. Following the expiration of her student visa, GÜVEN caused Kalder to sponsor her for an O-1A visa, which is typically issued to individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, or athletics.

GÜVEN’s application repeated the same sorts of misrepresentations that GÜVEN had provided to Kalder’s investors.

GÜVEN also supplied reference letters purportedly signed by business executives but that, in fact, GÜVEN had digitally signed herself without the executives’ knowledge or consent. GÜVEN was issued an O-1A visa in the fall of 2025. That visa has since been revoked.In addition to the prison term, GÜVEN, 27, of New York and Turkey, was ordered to pay forfeiture and restitution to her victims, each in the amount of $6,717,997.