SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco couple was arrested Thursday after being indicted on 25 federal counts of fraud and other crimes relating to their artificial intelligence company, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The indictment against Alexander and Valerie Beckman was unsealed this week and alleges the pair committed wire and securities fraud, conspiracy, identity theft and other charges.
Alexander is the founder and former CEO of GameOn Inc., a private business that offers artificial intelligence software that mimics human interaction, commonly known as a chatbot, prosecutors said. Its customers included prominent American professional sports leagues and teams and leading luxury fashion and retail brands, according to the DOJ.
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The Beckmans are accused of raising $60 million from investors over six years, $4 million of which they allegedly used for personal expenses such as homes in San Francisco, payments to private schools and money for their wedding.
Valerie was an attorney who worked on GameOn corporate and transactional matters from at least 2016 to 2024. The couple married in October 2023.
The indictment alleges statements to GameOn investors often described non-existent revenue, inflated cash balances, and "fake and otherwise exaggerated customer relationships."
Alexander allegedly used the names of at least seven real people -- including fake emails and signatures -- without their permission to distribute false and fraudulent GameOn financial and business information and documents with the intent to defraud GameOn and its investors, prosecutors said.
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Names allegedly used to commit the fraud included a GameOn chief financial officer, two bank employees, and an employee of a major professional sports league. Alexander also allegedly fabricated two GameOn audit reports using the names, signatures, and trademarks of reputable accounting firms to validate false financial statements and distributed over a dozen fake bank statements for GameOn's accounts.
Valerie is alleged to have provided Alexander with genuine audit reports that she obtained from her own employer that he then used to create fake audit reports for GameOn. She is accused of personally emailing one of these fake audit reports to a GameOn investor's representative, knowing it to be fake, to spur further investment in the company. She is also accused of lying to her employer about her work for GameOn and then attempting to delete hundreds of files relating to that GameOn work from her employer's records at a time when a grand jury investigation into GameOn was pending.
If convicted, the couple is facing up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of wire and securities fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, five years in prison for the count of securities fraud conspiracy, 30 years in prison for each count of bank fraud conspiracy and false statements to a bank, 10 years in prison for the count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, and two years in prison for each count of aggravated identity theft.
Valerie also faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for alleged obstruction of justice.