Whoops. Another Forbes 30u30 Facing Prison - YouTube

There is a joke circulating online recently that states: 'Congratulations to the other winners. I'll see you in prison,' aimed at the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

Examples of former Forbes 30 under 30 honorees charged with major financial crimes include Sam Bankman-Fried and Facing Prison at FTX, Charlie Javice at Frank, and Martin Shkreli.

By 2023, Forbes addressed the issue of past winners facing fraud allegations by releasing a piece titled 'Hall of Shame'.

Gökçe Güven, the 26-year-old CEO of fintech startup Calder, was charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, Visa fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

The case against Gökçe Güven is ongoing, and the allegations remain unproven in court.

Calder was a New York-based fintech startup founded in 2022.

Calder's core business was a software service aiming to change how loyalty programs worked for brands.

Gökçe Güven is a Turkish-born entrepreneur who studied computer science at UC Berkeley.

While at Berkeley, Gökçe Güven joined Celo, a blockchain project, and later worked at Robinhood Crypto and OpenSea.

Gökçe Güven worked on brand and creative partnerships at OpenSea and observed that brands were looking for loyalty, membership, and direct engagement, which became the foundation of Calder.

Calder announced it had raised $10.5 million in total funding, including a $7 million seed round.

Calder publicly referenced brand partnerships with G-Diva, Mile, Heat.io, Swiss football club BSC Young Boys, and a strategic partnership with the IATA (International Air Transport Association).

Julius Genachowski, former SEC chairman, stated that 'Calder's fresh approach to rewards is delivering exceptional value to both brands and their customers' and that 'the team's ability to deliver such strong results is truly impressive'.

Federal prosecutors allege that Calder CEO Gökçe Güven kept two separate sets of financial books, one with 'false and inflated numbers' presented to investors to hide the company's true financial condition.

According to the Department of Justice, many of the paying customers in Calder's pitch deck were not conventional paying customers, with several being discounted pilot programs that never developed into commercial contracts, and some companies having no agreement with Calder at all.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. stated that 'Gökçe Güven allegedly curated a facade of her business ingenuity to unlawfully reap financial and personal benefits'.

Forbes states that selections for the 30 under 30 list are editorial and independently judged, with no pay-to-play or outside influence.