CEO Steals $28 MILLION FOR PRIVATE JET, LIES TO INVESTORS!

SEC v. Christopher S. Kirchner, KFIM LLC — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26211, dated January 7, 2025.

Christopher S. Kirchner, former CEO of Slync, Inc., defrauded investors out of over $67 million by misrepresenting the company's financial health and the use of proceeds. He misappropriated more than $28 million for personal use, including purchasing a private jet. Kirchner consented to a final judgment including disgorgement and an officer-and-director bar, with penalties satisfied by a parallel criminal conviction.

In Plain English

Imagine you're raising money for a lemonade stand. You tell people you'll use the money to buy more lemons and sugar, but you actually spend most of it on fancy toys and a sports car. That's what happened here, but with a software company and millions of dollars. The CEO lied about how much money the company was making and what the investor money was for. He then took over $28 million of that money for himself to buy things like a private jet. Now, he's been ordered to pay it back and is banned from being a CEO or director.

Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.

How the Alleged Scheme Worked

1. Raising Capital Under False Pretenses Between January 2020 and May 2021, Christopher S. Kirchner, CEO of Slync, Inc., raised approximately $67 million from investors through two rounds of fundraising (Series A and Series B). He allegedly misrepresented Slync's financial condition, including its revenue figures and the nature of its customer contracts.
2. Misrepresenting Use of Proceeds Kirchner falsely told investors that the funds raised would be used for product development and to support the company's growth. This was a key deception used to secure their investment in Slync.
3. Siphoning Investor Funds After securing the investments, Kirchner began diverting investor proceeds. He allegedly siphoned funds to his personal bank accounts and to a related entity he controlled, KFIM LLC.
4. Funding a Lavish Lifestyle Kirchner used the misappropriated investor funds for personal expenses. This included paying personal credit cards, funding his personal investment accounts, and purchasing a $16 million private jet.
5. Continued Deception While misappropriating funds, Kirchner continued to lie to investors about Slync's financial health. He also repeatedly failed to meet payroll deadlines for company employees during this period.
6. Total Misappropriation By the time of his termination from Slync in August 2022, Kirchner had misappropriated more than $28 million of the $67 million raised from investors.

The Enforcement Action

On January 3, 2025, the SEC obtained a final judgment against Christopher S. Kirchner, former CEO of Slync, Inc. The judgment enjoins him from violating antifraud provisions, imposes an officer-and-director bar, and orders disgorgement of $28,074,080 with prejudgment interest of $6,770,535.02. These monetary obligations are deemed satisfied by the restitution order in the parallel criminal case, United States v. Kirchner, where Kirchner was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. No civil penalties were imposed in light of the criminal conviction.

Named in this action: Christopher S. Kirchner, KFIM LLC.

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