Kalder CEO Gökçe Güven Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud

NEW YORK — Gökçe Güven, the founder and former chief executive officer of Kalder Inc., pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to one count of securities fraud for a scheme that targeted the startup’s investors.

The plea, announced by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, covers a single felony count under federal securities law. Güven admitted to deceiving investors in Kalder, a technology startup whose precise valuation and investor count were not detailed in the charging documents.

The Department of Justice release identifies Güven solely in his capacity as founder and former CEO; no other executives or the company itself face charges in the announcement.

Prior to the plea, Güven maintained not-guilty status. The new guilty plea changes his legal posture from defendant contesting the charges to one awaiting sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. Sentencing will now follow standard federal presentence investigation timelines, typically 60 to 90 days from plea entry, though no exact date has been set.

The conviction obliges Güven to cooperate with ongoing forfeiture and restitution proceedings. Downstream, the U.S. Attorney’s Office must calculate and prove investor losses before the judge can impose a final restitution order. That figure will determine how much Güven personally owes victims and whether any seized assets will be distributed to them.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, which often follows criminal resolutions with parallel civil actions, can now move forward on any administrative sanctions or industry bars without awaiting trial testimony. Federal sentencing guidelines will also require the probation office to produce a report that accounts for the total dollar amount of the fraud, directly affecting the range of potential prison time and fines.

This marks the latest enforcement action against a technology startup executive in the Southern District of New York. The Department of Justice has pursued similar securities-fraud cases against founders who allegedly overstated company metrics to secure venture capital or other private investment.

The original criminal information or indictment in Güven’s case has not been released in full, but the plea resolves the sole count announced by prosecutors.