FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal jury on Thursday convicted Chris Kirchner, the founder of logistics technology startup Slync, for defrauding investors out of at least $25 million, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Kirchner, 36, was CEO from 2017 until his firing in August 2023.
Prosecutors said between April 2020 and March 2022, Kirchner initiated nearly 100 wire transfers moving money from Slync’s Silicon Valley Bank account into the company’s account at JPMorgan Chase Bank – an account only he had access to.
Prosecutors allege he used some of those funds 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.
In the meantime, Kirchner offered different explanations for Slync’s payroll issues – all of which were untrue.
According to court documents, Kirchner attempted to replace some of the money he had misappropriated by convincing at least four investors to wire $850,000 to Slync as part of a purported Series C investment round. Slync’s Board of Directors never authorized a Series C investment round.
He then attempted to delete approximately 18 gigabytes of Slync data, including emails, court documents say.
After four days on trial in a US federal court in Fort Worth, Kirchner faces up to 20 years in federal prison per count of wire fraud and up to 10 years per count for the other convictions.