Chris Kirchner, the former CEO of tech startup Slync — once valued at more than $240 million after he raised millions from investors like Goldman Sachs, only to spend the money on a private jet and luxury cars — was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday by the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas.
Chris Kirchner, founder and former CEO of Slync, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
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The sentencing, among the harshest for a tech founder accused of fraud in recent years — Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos was sentenced to 11 years last year — caps a dramatic rise and fall for the young founder, who raised more than $80 million for Slync with the goal to become a major supplier of software for the logistics industry. Kirchner, who was represented by a court-appointed defender, received the maximum penalty, and was ordered to pay $65 million in restitution, according to a sentencing document.
Kirchner was the subject of a July 2022 Forbes investigation that documented how he had overstated revenue figures to the board, and fired executives who tried to raise alarms about his deceit. In addition, he spent large on personal expenses, buying a $16 million private jet and a fleet of luxury cars. When funding for the company ran out, Kirchner continued to fly across the world to glitzy sporting events, while his employees went unpaid.
Months later, Kirchner was arrested by FBI agents at his Dallas-area mansion and charged with multiple counts of fraud by both the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission. The counts included the allegation that he fraudulently offered and sold more than $67 million of securities, of which he allegedly misappropriated more than $28 million for personal benefit. Kirchner was found guilty by jury verdict in January.
Slync, whose board ousted Kirchner in the wake of the Forbes report, ultimately shuttered last year despite receiving an additional $24 million investment from Goldman Sachs.
This article first appeared on forbes.com.
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