The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged New York fintech startup Kalder Inc. and its founder and chief executive, Gökçe Güven, with defrauding roughly 15 investors of nearly $6.7 million through inflated revenue and customer figures.
What happened
On October 2, 2026, the SEC filed a partially settled civil action against Kalder and Güven in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The agency announced the case on October 7 in Litigation Release No. 26667.
The complaint, filed as SEC v. Gökçe Güven and Kalder Inc., No. 26-civ-8716, centers on a capital raise that ran from approximately April 2024 through at least December 2024. Kalder, a platform that helps brands build customer rewards programs, was seeking money to fund growth and operations.
Regulators allege the company kept two sets of financial records during that raise. An outside bookkeeper prepared an accurate set from third-party bank data. A second, inflated set was created and shared with investors at Güven’s direction, according to the complaint.
Key facts in the SEC complaint
The gap between the two record sets was wide. Kalder’s genuine profit-and-loss statement showed $87,960 of revenue for the year ending in April 2024. The materials shown to investors claimed $1.2 million in annual recurring revenue, rising month after month.
| Metric | What investors were told | What records showed |
|---|---|---|
| Annual revenue | $1.2 million, climbing steadily | $87,960 for the year to April 2024 |
| Brand customers | 26 brands under revenue contracts | Many held free demo accounts or short pilots |
| Sales pipeline | Over $15 million | Figure directed by Güven, per the complaint |
| Capital raised | Growth money for expansion | Approximately $6.7 million from about 15 investors |
The investor spreadsheets were falsely marked as the outside bookkeeper’s work, the SEC alleges. Many customers described as revenue-generating had signed nothing at all.
The Kalder offering impact on investors
Approximately fifteen venture investors put money into a company whose real revenue was a small fraction of the pitch. The firm had fewer than ten employees at the time.
Start-up investing always carries risk, and early-stage financials are often thin. But these investors were not merely taking a chance on an unproven business. They were pricing equity off numbers the company’s own bank records contradicted.
That is the difference between risk and deception, and it is the line the SEC says Kalder crossed.
Charges and the proposed settlement
The SEC charged Güven and Kalder with violating Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5(b) under that act.
Without admitting the allegations, Güven agreed to a bifurcated settlement that remains subject to court approval. The proposed judgment would permanently enjoin her from violating the charged provisions and bar her from serving as an officer or director of a public company for six years.
Disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties would be determined by the court on a later SEC motion.
Parallel criminal case and guilty plea
The SEC action is not the only legal problem facing the founder. In a parallel criminal case brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Güven pleaded guilty on May 15, 2026, to one count of securities fraud before Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.
She agreed to forfeit nearly $7 million. Sentencing had been scheduled for September 17, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, and the charge carries a maximum of five years in prison.
Güven was arrested in November 2025, and the criminal charges were announced in February 2026. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said she defrauded more than a dozen venture capital investors, then repeated the same misrepresentations to obtain an immigration benefit.
Who is Gökçe Güven
Güven, a Turkish national, was 26 when the alleged conduct occurred, according to case filings. She is a University of California, Berkeley graduate who led engineering at Blockchain at Berkeley and worked at OpenSea and Robinhood before founding Kalder.
Forbes named her to its 30 Under 30 list in 2025, months before her arrest. Her story is a reminder that credentials and press coverage are no substitute for verified financials.
Red flags investors should have caught
- Revenue that grew too smoothly. Real early-stage revenue is lumpy. A straight monthly climb in annual recurring revenue deserves a hard question.
- Third-party work that was never confirmed. The spreadsheets carried a bookkeeper’s name. A call to that bookkeeper would have exposed the forgery.
- Customer lists that blurred free and paid. Demonstrations and reduced-rate pilots are not revenue contracts, and investors are entitled to know the difference.
- Pipeline figures set by the founder. A sales pipeline built to hit a target number is a marketing document, not a financial statement.
What investors should do now
Private placement and venture investors can take practical steps before signing. Ask for bank statements, not summaries. Confirm any named auditor or bookkeeper directly. Put revenue definitions in writing, and require that customer counts separate paying accounts from trials.
Investors who believe they suffered losses in this matter can file a complaint through the SEC’s investor complaint portal. Preserving pitch decks, emails, and wire records now makes any later claim stronger.
Frequently asked questions
What is the SEC case against Gökçe Güven and Kalder about?
The SEC alleges Kalder and its founder misled roughly 15 investors with inflated revenue and customer numbers while raising about $6.7 million for the fintech startup in 2024.
Has Gökçe Güven pleaded guilty to a crime?
Yes. She pleaded guilty in May 2026 to one count of securities fraud in a parallel case brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and agreed to forfeit nearly $7 million.
What penalties does the SEC settlement include?
The proposed judgment includes permanent injunctions and a six-year officer and director bar, with disgorgement and civil penalties to be set later by the court.
How to recover your losses
Victims of offering fraud may have several paths to recovery, including clawback claims and, in some cases, claims against intermediaries that facilitated the raise. A securities attorney can review subscription documents and identify which theories fit the facts.
Time limits apply to every avenue, and evidence becomes harder to gather as a young company winds down.
Haselkorn & Thibaut fights for investor recovery
Haselkorn & Thibaut is a securities law firm founded by former Wall Street defense attorneys who shifted their practice to represent investors. The firm has recovered over $520 million for clients in securities matters and maintains a 98 percent success rate in resolved nontraded REIT cases. Attorneys are AV Preeminent rated through Martindale-Hubbell, designated as Super Lawyers, and hold a 5.0-star client review average. The firm operates on a contingency basis — no recovery, no fee.
Contact Haselkorn & Thibaut today
Time matters in investment fraud cases. The earlier you act, the stronger your position. The firm offers a free case evaluation to assess your losses, review your account history, and explain your options under arbitration or settlement.
- Main Phone: 1-888-885-7162
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Offices in Florida, New York, Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina. Former Wall Street defense attorneys with 95+ years of combined experience. No recovery, no fee.
This article is informational and does not constitute legal or investment advice. Readers should consult a qualified professional regarding their specific circumstances.
