An entrepreneur from Turkey, who had made it to the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 cover page, has been handed down a 25-month jail term in federal prison for deceiving venture capital investors about her tech startup and using those lies to procure a visa for individuals with “extraordinary ability” in the US. Federal prosecutors said this on Friday.
Gökçe Güven, 27, who founded and ran Kalder Inc., should also forfeit $6,717,997 and pay the same amount in restitution to her victims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan imposed the sentence in Manhattan.
“Gökçe Güven committed a brazen fraud at Kalder, her technology startup,” U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said.
McDonald stated that Güven told more than a dozen venture capital investors that Kalder’s revenue and customer base were increasing, “none of which was true,” and then used those same lies and forgeries to get an immigration benefit. He further added that his office will continue to fight fraud in the startup world.
According to prosecutors, Güven started Kalder, a New York-based company that provides business loyalty and rewards programs, and began raising a seed round from venture capitalists in April 2024.
Her pitch deck claimed that 26 brands were “using Kalder” and 53 more were in “live freemium” (getting Kalder services for free). However, court filings cited by prosecutors said some brands had signed up for only a pilot project, typically at steep discounts, while others had no contract at all.
Moreover, the deck said Kalder’s recurring revenue had increased every month since February 2023, reaching $1.2 million in annual recurring revenue by March 2024. Prosecutors claimed that Güven hid the real finances by maintaining two sets of books: an accurate set kept by Kalder’s outside accounting firm and a second set with exaggerated numbers, which she showed investors. She also sent the investors a forged contract between Kalder and its alleged brand partner.
In this way, prosecutors alleged, Güven raised about $7 million from more than a dozen investors.
Güven, who is a Turkish citizen, used the same false claims to remain in the US after her student visa expired, prosecutors said. She helped Kalder obtain an O-1A visa, which is generally given to individuals with extraordinary ability in the fields of science, education, business, or athletics.
Her visa application repeated the false claims she told investors. She also submitted reference letters, which appeared to be signed by business leaders, but she had actually signed them without their knowledge or consent, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The visa was issued in fall 2025. Prosecutors say they have since revoked it.
Prosecutors arrested Güven on November 27, 2025. On January 29, prosecutors announced a new indictment charging her with securities fraud, wire fraud, visa fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The securities and wire fraud counts each could result in up to 20 years in prison, the visa fraud count up to 10 years, and the identity theft count a mandatory two years, Inc. reported.
Güven pleaded guilty on May 15 to one count of securities fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn. The count carries a maximum sentence of five years, and as part of the plea, she agreed to forfeit nearly $7 million. The plea was announced by Jay Clayton, who headed the Manhattan office until McDonald, a former enforcement director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, became U.S. attorney in July, Bloomberg Law reported.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil case on October 2, saying that Güven and Kalder deceived investors while raising about $6.7 million. Without admitting the allegations, Güven agreed to a judgment barring her from serving as an officer or director for six years, with disgorgement and civil penalties to be determined later by the court, according to Investment Executive. The judgment still awaits court approval.
The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, with assistance from the SEC. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allison Nichols and Alexandra N. Rothman of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force prosecuted the case.
Prior to her arrest, Güven was considered a rising star in the startup world. A former University of California, Berkeley student, she founded Kalder in 2022, TechCrunch reported. Forbes named her to its 2025 30 Under 30 list in the marketing and advertising category and placed her on that category’s cover. The magazine said Kalder raised $11 million at a $35 million valuation, according to Inc., and that its profile listed Godiva, the chocolate maker, and the International Air Transport Association as Kalder’s clients, per TechRepublic.
The sentencing has once again brought up online jokes about the list. On X, the account @VCBrags posted Güven’s Forbes cover alongside the sentencing news and wrote, “Forbes 30 under 30 to prison pipeline remains undefeated.”
Güven joins other previous honorees who have subsequently been charged with federal crimes, including Charlie Javice, founder of the student financial aid startup Frank, and pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, who was sentenced in 2018 to seven years in prison for securities fraud. Forbes estimates that 99.9% of the more than 10,000 people named on its lists have not done anything wrong, according to BusinessCloud.
