Christopher Kirchner, the founder of Slync, a supply-chain management software startup, has been charged for misappropriating $20 million from the company.
Kirchner, age 35, was charged via criminal complaint with wire fraud and arrested at his home in Westlake early Tuesday morning. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hal R. Ray, Jr. later in the day.
According to the complaint, Mr. Kirchner – who served as Slync’s CEO from 2017 until 2022, when he was suspended by the Board of Directors due to allegations of misconduct – allegedly wired $20 million from Slync’s bank account to his personal checking account.
In text messages, Mr. Kirchner told an employee that he was transferring money received from an investor into “an investment account” and a “chase” account. He then instructed the employee to approve the wires. But Mr. Kirchner did not transfer money into an “investment account” or a “chase” account. He instead transferred $20 million of Slync funds into his personal account.
Meanwhile, in emails, Mr. Kirchner told private bankers that the $20 million represented “a distribution from my company.” Slync’s Board of Directors never authorized such a distribution.
Mr. Kirchner allegedly used the $20 million – which amounted to roughly 40 percent of $50 million raised from private equity investors and venture capital groups during the company’s Series B investment round – to fund a lavish lifestyle, including a $16 million private Gulfstream jet and a $495,000 luxury suite at a local sports stadium.