By Jessica Mathews | Yahoo! Finance News
This morning, at a courthouse in Fort Worth, Tex., Slync founder Christopher Kirchner is going on trial to face charges of fraud and money laundering.
A jury will decide whether Kirchner misappropriated at least $25 million of capital he had raised to scale his supply chain software company. Prosecutors allege he moved the capital to personal bank accounts and spent it on a “lavish” lifestyle, including a $16 million private jet, a luxury suite at a Dallas stadium, and, at one point a bid for a soccer club—all while he struggled to meet payroll. If convicted, Kirchner could go to prison for the rest of his life. (Kirchner’s attorney declined to comment and Slync did not respond before press time)
If you’ve followed along, these founder fraud trials have really stacked up over the last couple years. Here’s a quick highlight reel of key dates from cases I’ve followed:
—May 2023: Frank founder Charlie Javice charged with $175 million fraud
—May 2023: Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes started her 11-year prison sentence
—November 2023: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried convicted of multiple counts of fraud
“Being optimistic about the potential success of your startup is entirely different from blatantly lying about facts. Instead of following the “hot trendy” startup, investors should be very careful to thoroughly diligence the startup before investing.” -Shruti Gurudanti, Rose Law Group partner and director of corporate transactions
