Gökçe Güven, a women tech CEO who founded Kalder, was sentenced to 25 months in prison in the United States. The Times of India reported that she was also ordered to pay $6,717,997 in forfeiture and $6,717,997 in restitution. Güven, 27, had appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 cover page in 2025.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald described the alleged conduct as a “brazen fraud.” McDonald said Güven told more than a dozen venture capital investors that Kalder had rising revenue and a growing customer base, claims prosecutors said were untrue. The report said the case also involved documents submitted for an immigration benefit.
Women Tech CEO Accused of Misleading Investors
In April 2024, Güven began raising Kalder’s seed round, soliciting investments from dozens of venture capitalists. Prosecutors said she gave prospective investors false statements, misleading claims and fabricated documents about the startup’s revenue and brand partners.
Kalder’s pitch deck represented that 26 brands were “using Kalder” and 53 were in “live freemium,” meaning they used basic services at no charge. Prosecutors said some brands had only entered limited pilot programs, typically at heavily discounted prices. They said other brands had no agreement with Kalder.
The deck also reported steadily growing recurring revenue, reaching $1.2 million in annual recurring revenue. Prosecutors said the figure was false. They alleged Güven kept two sets of books: an accurate internal set prepared by Kalder’s outside accounting firm and another set with inflated numbers sent to investors.
Prosecutors also said Güven sent investors a forged contract with a purported brand partner. The report said she raised approximately $7 million from more than a dozen investors through the misrepresentations. Grit Daily previously reported on the Kalder raise. Other cases involving alleged investor deception include a separate founder’s guilty plea and a startup founder’s securities fraud plea.
Visa Application Included in Allegations
Güven, a citizen of Turkey, also made false statements and submitted fabricated documents in a visa application, according to the report. After her student visa expired, Kalder sponsored her for an O-1A visa, which is typically issued to people with extraordinary ability in science, education, business or athletics.
Prosecutors said the application repeated the kinds of misrepresentations they attributed to Güven’s investor materials. They also said reference letters appeared to be signed by business executives, but Güven digitally signed them herself without the executives’ knowledge or consent.
Güven received the O-1A visa in fall 2025, and it has since been revoked, the report said. The reported case therefore involved both investor materials and the visa application. The report also said the ordered forfeiture and restitution were each $6,717,997.
The sentence followed allegations that the pitch deck overstated Kalder’s customer relationships and revenue. Prosecutors also cited the purported partner contract and the two sets of books in describing the investor claims.
