The founder of New York technology startup Kalder was sentenced Oct. 30 to 25 months in prison for Kalder securities fraud, according to federal prosecutors.
Gökçe Güven, 27, had pleaded guilty May 15. U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan imposed the sentence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said.
False claims about revenue and customers
Kalder focused on loyalty and rewards programs. Prosecutors said Güven raised about $7 million from more than a dozen investors by misrepresenting the company’s finances and business relationships during a fundraising effort that began in April 2024.
The office said she gave investors inflated figures while keeping a separate, accurate set of books prepared by an outside accounting firm. Prosecutors also described a forged customer contract and misleading claims about participating brands.
In addition to imprisonment, Güven was ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture, each totaling $6,717,997. Those are separate court-ordered amounts; the announcement does not say victims have already received that money.
Separate investor education
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s general bulletin on private placements warns that startup investments can involve a total loss, limited financial disclosures and difficulty reselling an investment.
The bulletin encourages investors to examine financial statements, check whether they were independently audited, assess management’s experience and understand how money will be used. This is general guidance, not a finding about which offering exemption Kalder used.
