The FBI unsealed an indictment yesterday that alleges Joanna Smith-Griffin, founder of the AI startup AllHere Education, engaged in “securities fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with defrauding investors” out of nearly $10 million. The FBI claims she misrepresented her company’s revenue, customer base, and cash to investors from at least November 2020 until June 2024.
The company is in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Smith-Griffin faces prison time if convicted, including a maximum sentence of 20 years for securities fraud, a maximum sentence of 20 years for wire fraud, and a mandatory sentence of two years for an aggravated identity thief. Smith-Griffin could not be reached for comment.
The Forbes 30 Under 30 list has become a meme in the past few years as a few of the honorees have found themselves indicted on fraud. The Forbes-to-Fraud pipeline includes FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, co-CEO of Alameda Research; fintech Frank founder Charlie Javice, and “Pharma bro” Martin Shkreli.