Founder and former CEO arrested at North Texas home in $20 million fraud case.

WESTLAKE, Texas. The founder of Slync, a supply chain management software startup, has been charged with embezzling $20 million from the company, federal officials announced Tuesday.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said Christopher Kirshner, 35, was facing criminal charges of wire fraud and was arrested at his Westlake home early Tuesday morning. Later that day, he appeared for the first time before U.S. Justice of the Peace Hal R. Wray, Jr.

“This defendant flaunted his apparent wealth by allegedly transferring millions from the company’s treasury to his private bank account,” U.S. Attorney Leiga Simonton said in a statement. “Investors and Slync employees are understandably outraged, and we sympathize with them. We look forward to bringing Mr. Kirchner to justice in federal court.”

“According to the criminal complaint, Mr. Kirchner used his position as CEO to defraud investors and the company he worked for by diverting funds for his personal gain. He did this to finance a luxurious lifestyle at the expense of those who trusted him to act responsibly and ethically,” said James J. Dwyer, Acting FBI Special Agent in Dallas. “The FBI will remain tenacious in our efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of such brazen acts of corporate greed.”

According to the complaint, Kirshner, who served as CEO of Slync from 2017 to 2022 when he was removed from his position by the board of directors amid allegations of misconduct, allegedly transferred $20 million from Slync’s bank account to his personal checking account.

In text messages, Kirchner told the employee that he was transferring money received from the investor to an “investment account” and a “prosecution account,” the Justice Department said in a statement. He then instructed an employee to approve the wires.

But Kirchner did not transfer the money to an “investment account” or “chain account.” Instead, he transferred $20 million of Slync funds to his personal account, according to the Justice Department.

Meanwhile, in emails, Kirshner told private bankers that the $20 million represented “a distribution from my company.” The Slync Board of Directors has never authorized such distribution.

Kirshner allegedly used $20 million, roughly 40% of the $50 million raised from private investors and venture capital groups during the company’s Series B investment round, to fund luxury lifestyles, including a $16 million Gulfstream private jet and luxury for $495,000. number at the local sports stadium.

If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.